Erma Bombeck, blog-sitter

The following piece was written by Erma Bombeck, a queen among everyday people who knew more about living and parenting through humor than anyone I've read since she left us in the late nineties.

I think every mother I know has come across this timeless gem, "I Loved You Enough."  But I read it as a teenager and never forgot it.  And, if every near-adult child had a parent who was this much of a nuisance in their life, well...they'd be grateful someday.

Since I write now and then about parent relationships with grown children, it seemed a good placeholder while I finish taking care of non-bloggy business for the next couple of days. 

I Loved You Enough

Someday, when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a mother, I'll tell them:

          

I loved you enough to bug you about where you were going, with whom, and what time you would get home.

         

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your hand-picked friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to make you return a Milky Way with a bite out of it to a drugstore and confess,  "I stole this."

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your bedroom, a job that would have taken me 15 minutes.

         

I loved you enough to not make excuses for your lack of respect or your bad manners.

I loved you enough to ignore  "what every other mother"  did.

I loved you enough to figure you would lie about the party being chaperoned but forgive you for it....after discovering I was right.

I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall and fail so that you could learn to stand alone.

I loved you enough to accept you for who you are, not what I wanted you to be.

But most of all, I loved you enough to say no when you hated me for it.   That was the hardest part of all. 
 

                                                   ~ Erma Bombeck