Today is Father's Day and with the monumental job of being responsible for the successful journey of a child from infancy to adulthood no father can take total blame if things go astray. Fathers can only be thankful for what went right and accept the lessons learned and then start over.
In my role as a mother, I remember that my son and I had a somewhat rough time together when he reached his teen years. He is blunt, like me. He has a strong creative muse that does not let him rest and comes before others, like me. He is stubborn in his ideas, like me. He had periods of depression, unlike me. We grew apart for a while with a mutual peaceful understanding after some heavy discussions as he entered adulthood. Then in his late 20's he returned to the fold and we fell in love with each other once again and became good friends and best supports for each other. We still are finding our way on this winding journey.
My, now 30-something, son said to me the other day...not his exact words but the gist of it..."All of my friends like you guys. I told them you are a little crazy, but they like you anyway." Is this a left-handed complement or what? Should I avoid analyzing it? Should it be taken seriously? Have you received any strange complements from your adult children that give you pause although they make you smile?
It is a complement, and not a back- handed one. Don't analyze it. Enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI have deleted my long time blog and am now blogging at http://blrs2013.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, ha, ha!
ReplyDeleteWow. I think my daughter stopped telling her friends anything about me. I think she just grabbed the handrail and held on for the ride when she brought them over to meet me.
It usually went anywhere from me threatening a friend (a boy) I would cut off all his long beautiful hair(true) to acting like a silly goose and embarrassing her. Crazy would have been a great compliment. :)
I can relate to your relationship with your son. My son is 38 now, but boy, is he too much like me. It gets him in trouble from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI guess my biggest compliment lately is that he hugged me in front of all of his rowdy soccer fan friends.
I am sure it was said with affection. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAh, what a wonderful complement. I would run with that one to the bank.
ReplyDeleteOh my
ReplyDeletethis is Love..
I know it
It's a compliment, enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely take it as a compliment! Of course, I consider being a little crazy a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI think all kids, even adult ones, think their parents a bit weird. I think you should take your son's comment as a compliment.
ReplyDeleteFace it: You are cool.
ReplyDeleteI can recall my grown son saying a few times..."I just hate it when I open my mouth and your words come out and they are right"....LOL.
ReplyDeleteWe still have some awkward moments but we also have some very indepth conversations too.
My friends loved my parents and I never understood why. Perhaps it was because one of them was always there. My children's friends loved me and my children could not figure it out. Perhaps it was because I was the parent who was always there. I ask my son how he learned to be such a good dad with no dad around and he said "You taught me how to parent." And he is always there for his kids and so is my daughter for hers.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter told me yesterday that she will miss me when she goes back to college. Made me smile.
ReplyDeleteI take a little bit of crazy as a compliment. To me, it means you know how to have fun, don't take yourself to seriously, and aren't boring. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut yes, kids (no matter how old) have a way of giving backhanded compliments, don't they?
When I got heart trouble my daughter said she was surprised that something like that could happen to me when I was so youthful and with it.
ReplyDeleteAs if thinking young could save me from heart trouble!
He loves you and is proud that his friends like you.
ReplyDeleteBask in it
Hugs
SueAnn
I find my thirty something off-spring often seem to insult me with comments they don't intend that way- Can't think of specifics-
ReplyDeleteBut funny I started taking Ginkgo Biloba n got more offended than usual this winter, n they both were on anti-depressants n got me depressed saying stuff about the old days, or insinuating I should hang out with older people than I do...
It's cool you know your son's friends! I meet some at Bday parties n Halloween time, sometimes at the playground too. Don't have much to talk about with them tho-
I think being thought of as a little strange is compliment but I'm sure a comment like that would have me questioning too. My sons give me compliments as a mom but they also laugh at some of my ways (so do I). I love how our traits are passed down and we end up dealing with parts of ourselves through are kids. I told Bryce yesterday that he is part his daddy and part his mommy and a big part is just him and like no other person. It was pretty amazing for him to ponder that no one else in the whole side world is just like him. He kept telling me about different kids with the name Bryce until he was able to grasp a little the concept of his uniqueness.
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