My Awesome Parents

I received a message from my mom yesterday saying that my dearest 14 year old brother had been suspended for being a criminal in school. I shall refrain from stating the offence here for fear that he might smite me with his plastic sword that he hides under his bed. The shocking part of the message though, was not the fact that my brother had been suspended - I've always known that he was a criminal - but that since he was suspended, my mom was taking him out for a movie! Wah.... getting suspended for school = holiday plus watching movie!

So I questioned my mom as to why he got to watch a movie. Shouldn't he be sitting at home studying or scrubbing the toilet floors as punishment for his criminality? A movie, at the cinema, no less would be rewarding his behavior, would it not? And she replied saying that my brother had punished himself enough. He hadn't been able to eat, to sleep, even to play tennis properly. And tennis is like the love of his life. So he deserved some comforting love.

Amisdt laughing at the fact that my brother was loosing sleep and not eating for getting caught red handed doing xxxxx, I realised that my parents knew exactly what they were doing. They knew exactly how my brother was feeling and how to deal with the situation. And I find that amazing. Because if it was I whos son had had been caught, I would most probably have metted out my own punishment, without a second thought, in addition to the suspension.

My parents, however, knew exactly what would work on my brother. And it's the same for me and my sister. They know exactly what makes each of us tick. And I think that it's no easy feat to be able to so elegantly handle three very different personalities.

My parents are awesome.
I only hope that when I have kids of my own, I'll be able to teach them as well as you have taught me.

I love you, Mom, Dad.