Anyone that knows me well, knows that I like the show "Glee".
Go ahead and laugh at me, I'll wait.
Are you finished? Then I'll start.
The kids and I started watching it while we were living in China. We actually had a Glee Marathon one week when they were out of school and Ryan was traveling. We didn't have regular TV over there, but we COULD get whole Seasons on DVD. Weird, huh? Anyway, we walked across the street, bought Season 1, and spent 2 days watching nothing but Glee. It was cold and rainy, so it's not like we could go outside anyway! :)
I enjoyed it because we had amazing conversations. We talked about drugs and alcohol, sex, bullying, friendship and love. I gained new insight into my kids, and I think they learned things about me they never knew before.
One of my favorite characters is Burt Hummel. For those of you that don't watch the show, he's a typical Redneck, 100% Man's Man, who has been a single father for years to an openly gay teenage boy. And yes, he struggles with it, and he has issues with it, but through it all, he NEVER stops loving his child, and he never stops believing in him.
I look at him, and I think, "THAT'S the kind of parent I want to be." First let me start by saying that I have AMAZING parents. But honestly, my brother and I are pretty boring. And that's okay. I HOPE my kids are boring! But with 3 of them, chances are pretty high that at least one of them is going to present us with a situation that we're uncomfortable with and isn't what we had planned for our kids. Now whether that's being gay, not going to college, wanting to drop out of high school, drinking underage, or WHATEVER the challenge may be, I hope I can be the kind of parent that Burt Hummel is. I HOPE I can be someone my kids will always love and respect.
I hope I can be someone they can always turn to when they need something. I hope I can be the parent that will always stand by them, even when I don't agree with the choices they are making. I hope I can be the parent that will be there during the hard times, so that I'll be able to celebrate with them during the good times. I HOPE I'm that parent. I WANT to be that parent.
But I know it's not going to be easy. I know I'm going to let them down. I know I'm going to disappoint them. I know I'm going to say things to them that I shouldn't say. But I hope I don't. I hope I'm supportive, loving, caring, and their biggest cheerleader. I HOPE I'm THAT kind of parent. Because my children are AMAZING. And they DESERVE. THAT. KIND of parent.
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4 comments:
I have yet to meet a perfect parent.
Yet I think our kids learn life lessons from occasional disappointments, being let down, and from our other mistakes.
Most important is that you love your child and you are there for them(even if they think they don't need you).
I don't watch Glee(shocking, isn't it???)
But, I want to be a parent like that, too!
I was raised with "the kids are to be seen not heard." We didn't discus anything in my family, unless we were already in trouble and then there wasn't much discussion. I was never able to talk to my parents about anything, until I was in my mid 20's. I don't want that for my kids. I want them to know they can talk to me about anything and everything and know that I am always here for them and I will always love them no matter what. I think it makes things much easier when there is that "open door" between parents & kids. It is something that we haven't been able to get to in our relationship yet, but we are working on it.
I love GLEE and our oldest is an open GLEEK!
You're so right about B.Hummel. All parents will have their hardships....not way around it with the teen years.
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