M, his mom, and I had dinner at my parent's place last night... well, it was only my dad, since my mom unfortunately got stuck working and wouldn't be home until this morning (she is a home attendant and has 24-hour shifts). There are times when I dread going home b/c my dad and I get on each other's nerves a lot (we are both very stubborn and tend to believe that our way of thinking is always correct), and I often leave feeling frustrated and emotionally drained. But I see the way M interacts with his mom - the patience and kindness he shows... and that makes me want to be a better daughter. I need to put myself in my dad's shoes every once in a while and remember that just b/c we have different opinions on things doesn't necessarily make either one of us wrong. If we disagree on something, I should just let it go and not force the issue.
Last night, I was reminded of how lonely my dad is when my mom is not around. As we were getting ready to leave, my dad made a comment to the effect of "Oh, you guys are leaving? Now I'm not going to have anyone to talk to..." I felt so sad and guilty when I heard that. I told my dad to give me a call to chat if he's bored, but I know he's not going to. He always feels like he's bothering me (little does he know that my life isn't very interesting at all), and never calls unless he wants to know if we're going over for dinner. As we were walking to the car last night, M tells me that I need to call my dad more often. I agreed. It doesn't take much to make him happy - the little that we can do, we should.
As for my mom, she's a happy-go-lucky character who can easily find interest in many different things. I really must commend her on her sewing expertise. I needed her to fix a dress for me that was too big, and based on the way the dress was made, she would have to take the whole thing apart in order to take in the sides for me. It's only been a week, and she almost has the whole thing finished already - all done by hand since she didn't have a sewing machine at home. I was very impressed. My dad said that she stayed up till past midnight one night finishing it up. The only problem is, the dress was a little snug after the alterations... I'm hoping it was b/c I tried it on after dinner on a full stomach. In any case, I have a month and a half to lose any weight I need to in order to make sure the dress fits by mid-March. But first things first, I have to thank my mom for fixing the dress when I call home tonight.
1 comment:
honor thy mother and father.... ;)but I hear what you are saying! i have similar issues, whereas M doesn't. but i guess the important part is that you recognize it and are doing all kinds of great things to make them feel acknowledged and loved. that's important. i wish you the best!
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