Dear Mom and Dad shared by Bonnie Ramsburg

by Bonnie Ramsburg Do kids ever really tell their parents “Thank you?” Or even, “I love you,” often enough? As a kid, we don’t always see or understand why our parents do the things they do, or why our lives are the way they are. If we are lucky, we learn before we have our own children just how much our parents love us. I don’t have children, but here’s my “Thank You and I Love You” to my own parents.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you. Thank You Mom, for giving me life. Thank You Dad, for choosing a ready-made family. Even though neither of you were ready to be parents at such a young age, you did a pretty good job of it.

Thank you both for helping me through all the “firsts” a young girl has to go through, including my first puppy love. Wasn’t that just a fun few weeks? Thank you for going back to school, to try to help your family financially by getting a college degree. Even though you Dad, left a job that tried to make you work instead of coming to bring me home for school. And Mom, at the time, who knew that you were fighting your own battle with a disease that would affect not only you and your ability to work, but the rest of us; especially me personally as I was diagnosed with it several years later. Watching your battle with Bi-Polar helped prepare me for mine.

Thank you for the non-materialistic childhood. Although you wish you could have given us “more,” I can honestly say, I enjoyed the Cauliflower Patch Kid (she was cuter and more fun looking (the pink hair and plastic cauliflower was a hoot!) than the Cabbatch Patch Kid I eventually got. And the year I received the talking Wishbone dog, that was a GREAT year for me! I had learned long ago not to ask for specific things for Christmas, but that year it was the one thing I really wanted and I got it.

Thank you Mom, for instilling a sense of “be prepared” for any thing, even if it drives Dad crazy when he has to pack the car for trips. Winter coat, light jacket and sweater? Check to all of the above. And Dad, thank you for teaching me how to pack a car for a trip; little did you know it would be used for scrapbook supplies, but that knowledge has helped on more than one occasion. And while you guys did it to be economical when we traveled, thank you for the memories of the roadside picnics that we had. These instilled a sense of, “You don’t have to spend money on those overpriced rest stops unless absolutely necessary!”

Thank you for allowing me to spread my wings and proving to myself that I could spend a year away from my family by going to school out of state and staying on campus; Grandma was only a half hour away, but I didn’t take advantage of that by calling her to come and see me all the time. Thank you for dropping everything and coming to me when I had my episode of seeing skulls and thinking of suicide. That normally six-hour trip was probably done in less than five hours. Thank you for loving me, even when I’ve said probably one of the most hurtful phrases a kid can say to their parents, “I want to go live with (insert name of non- custodial parent here).”

Thank you for being my Mom and my friend. And for enjoying the simple things in life that make us happy, like eating pizza in a park during a rainstorm, or the “scenic routes.” And for being silly and funny, and all the other goofball moments we have had together. Sharing laughter and fun times together, although there are times I just look at you and shake my head, are always welcome and I hope and pray that I get many more with you.

Thank you for being my Dad and supporting me in different ways. For thinking I’m “good enough” to be a manager, or to do something better with my life, although I have as yet found that better thing. Thank you for letting me know when you really accepted the fact that I was an adult, granted it was the first “dirty joke” you ever told me. But it let me know that you thought of me as an adult. And thank you for your wry sense of humor and Cheshire Cat grin.

We’ve had our differences, and man I know it wasn’t always easy, but we made it together, and I appreciate all that you both have done for me. I love you and hope that you realize it.

Oh yeah, one more thank you, I guess. Thank you for NOT taking Kevin back where he came from when I told you to after he was born. He’s turned out to be a pretty decent younger brother.

Love Always and Forever, Bonnie Kay