MEAN MOM

I loved you enough...

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic
that motivates a parent, I will tell them:

I loved you enough... to ask where you were going, with whom,
and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough... to insist that you save your money and
buy a bike for yourself even though we could afford to
buy one for you.

I loved you enough... to be silent and let you discover that
your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough... to make you go pay for the bubble gum you
had taken and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and
want to pay for it."

I loved you enough... to stand over you for two hours while you
Cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough... to let you see anger, disappointment and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren'tperfect.

I loved you enough... to let you assume the responsibility for
your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost
broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough... to say NO when I knew
you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles
of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won too.
And someday when your children are old enough to understand the
logic that motivates parents, you will tell them..........





Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother
in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast,
we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsiand a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can
guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what
other kids had, too. Mother insisted on knowing where we were at
all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison.
She had to know who our friends were, and what we were
doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would
be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less. We
were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the
Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes,
make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry,
empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would
lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always
insisted on us telling the truth the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read
our minds. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our
friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come
up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else
could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we
were 16. Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things
other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught
shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for
any crime. It was all her fault. Now that we have left home, we
are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be
mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong
with the world today.

It just doesn't have enough mean moms.