Our relationships with our parents can be complicated. Let's face it: most people didn’t grow up in a family like the ones on TV shows like The Waltons.
But there are usually moments in a child's life that seem like they were plucked straight out of a primetime family-friendly film. Maybe they were rare, or maybe they were common.
Either way, they left a lasting impression.
Reddit user flirtyxfairy asked:
"What is something good that your parent(s) did for you that you will never forget?"
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
"My dad always apologized when he was wrong. I used to take it for granted until I grew up and realized a LOT of people had never gotten an apology from their parents before."
"This really helped me because I find it easy to own up to my mistakes and make amends where necessary."
~ iusedtobepretty
Making A Musical Effort
"When I was a kid my dad was incredibly critical of the music I listened to. Ironically, this is funny because the music he listened to was bands like Twisted Sister—a band that literally went in front of Congress to fight parents who hated their music so much."
"Anyway, I remember when I was around 13, he all of a sudden started listening to the same music as me. I remember bonding over The Eminem Show album with him. I’d find out later (from my mom) that he’d apparently gotten tired of arguing with me all the time over what I listened to and made an active effort to enjoy the same music that I did."
"It’s funny, though, because to this day—20+ years later—he is more 'in the know' of new music than I am. He loves Rhianna and T-Swift. He introduces me to new songs."
"His page 1 presets in his car are all 'today’s hits' type stations. He’s still the single best air guitarist I’ve ever met and will definitely still bump some hair bands. But he’ll also bust out that air guitar to some Biebs."
~ autotuned_voicemails
Safe Space
"Always having a safe place I can come and crash without judgment. My husband and I lived with them for 5 months recently with our cat and dog so we could finance IVF and rent our house out."
"I thought it would be stressful sharing with them for that time, but it was lovely."
"I had a pregnancy two months in and was stressed about losing it (from previous losses), but we would all celebrate (tentatively) every milestone, going out for dinner or something—every blood test where my hormones were going in the right direction."
"We’re back home, and I’m 33 weeks, and I don’t know if we could have done it without their support."
~ clariels95
Looking For A Better Life
"Moved us halfway around the world so I could have a better life."
"Two great kids and six wonderful grandkids later, I still don't know how to thank them, especially now that they're gone."
~ throway_nonjw
Knowledge Is Power
"Strict with my education."
"I was allowed to do whatever I wanted (hobbies, extracurricular, sports, etc...), but school always had to come first."
"Instilled a good work ethic in me from a young age."
~ thatsimsgirl
Kindling Creativity
"My mom once told me I could be anything I wanted, so I told her I wanted to be a dinosaur."
"Instead of shutting me down, she spent a week helping me practice my roar."
"Not sure if that was good parenting or just her way of keeping me busy, but I'll never forget it!"
~ NewtHot620
Zero Student Debt
"They paid my way through college, which meant that I started my adult life with zero debt."
"I've thanked them for it."
~ UltraRunner42
Accountability
"They never forget to always remind us, that we are not restricted in anything we do that makes us happy, but we should take things into consideration and be responsible for it."
"More importantly with what should be our priorities."
~ CozyAlly
Self-Sacrifice
"I never really noticed it at the time, but all the sacrifices my mother made for me and my brother."
"We were poor (not dirt poor, but still), so eating out was a luxury we rarely had."
"My mom would buy my brother and I hamburgers, and she would say that she didn't want to eat because she was either on a diet, not hungry, already ate, etc... while in truth, she didn't have anything in her stomach, and to make sure that there was enough food until the next paycheck came, she would eat only a saltine cracker."
"I was an idiotic, moody teenager, and gave her such a hard time, that part of me wants to slap my 13 to 18-year-old self for my attitude back then. Instead of doing whatever I did back then, I should've studied and gotten better grades to help her feel more at ease."
"Excuse me guys, gotta call mom real quick."
~ Rakidian
Making An Effort To Share
"My father, even when we were hard up for money (my mom took him to the cleaners in the divorce because her lawyer slept with the judge presiding over the case, that's a whole other ball of wax) made a deal with me that he upheld for six years."
"Every month I would get a new video game. We'd alternate months for who picked the game."
"One month I'd get to choose, and I'd favor the new hotness or things I was obsessed with (think Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy, etc...) and on the alternating month, he'd get to choose the title, and he'd pick cheaper stuff, lesser-known stuff, or a genre I wouldn't normally choose."
"And what was my part in this bargain? We couldn't go get next month's game until I'd written a game review for him. He wanted it done as if I was going to have it published in GameInformer or EGM and for me to include screenshots and what I thought of it as the specific type of gamer I was, and what I thought as a gamer at large."
"Sometimes there were real stinkers, and it was hard to put 20-30 hours into it or churn out a review, so we missed a few months here and there, but by and large, I got to play a ton of games and was often excited to pen my thoughts to paper so we could talk about it over dinner."
"He made a considerable effort to share with me in the things I was enthusiastic about, and helped me hone my writing and critical thinking skills, and I learned to broaden my perspectives not just with video games but more generally."
"And he read every single one of my reviews and talked with me about them almost every month without fail from ages 11 to 17. Twenty years later and I still well up thinking about it."
"In my wildest imaginings, I could not ever dream up a father so excellent at fathering."
"Love you dad. Miss you."
~ IceRay43
Defining Home
"My mom waiting at home with a cup of tea and cookies every day coming home from school."
"That’s still how I’d describe 'home'."
~ iusedtobepretty
Empathy
"My periods were really severe when I was a teen. I am talking heavy bleeding full 7 days and a fever."
"Every month my dad would get me my duvet and pillow from upstairs, make a hot water bottle, get me my favourite movie from the video (rental) store, get some ice cream and chocolate as well. Settle me on the couch and pamper me for the first 2 days that were the heaviest."
"He died when I just turned 18."
"Ever since, every month on my heaviest day, I get myself some ice cream and chocolate and either put on a DVD or stream a movie. Settle myself on my couch with a hot water bottle and duvet + pillow (now I have a weigthed blanket that I use) and pamper myself for one whole day."
~ Long_Taro_9529
The Help You Need
"I hated school. Few friends. I didn't want to be there. And I didn't enjoy reading. Which made school that much harder."
"Mom came home from hitting garage sales one Saturday with a grocery bag of sci-fi books, which I devoured! I was reading one or two books a day over the summer."
"This helped me in school. While I didn't thrive. Life was much easier."
"Without that boost, I can't guess how my life would have evolved."
"How did she know?"
~ krichard-21
Wish Fulfillment
"I grew up with just my mother, she was a single parent. My father was still alive and well, and I had a relationship with him, however there wasn't a lot in the way of 'financial assistance' to my mother/me."
"As such we lived in a pretty piss poor environment. My mother worked 2 jobs and went to night school once a week, to give you an idea."
"Anyway, and now I show my age here, one year saw the release of the Sega Dreamcast and I REALLY wanted one."
"Problem is, I knew it'd be way too expensive to ask for one—so I came up with a plan: Ask every member of my family for 'money' in lieu of gifts and if I was lucky, I'd have enough for the console."
"Then, I'd basically wait another 6 months until my birthday and do the same again, so I could finally buy games and use it. That's that sort of lengths you'd have to go to when you had 0 money."
"Anyway, come Christmas day, I open things up... And its a Dreamcast + games + the whole works. My mum had heard my stupid a** children's plan, and somehow [most likely via credit she couldn't afford] got it all for me."
"At the time, and now many, many, years later, it wasn't about the console anymore, it's about the fact my mother would do that for me, when [even as a young kid] I knew full well she couldn't afford to do that."
"I'm long grown up now, and have never forgotten how my mother busted her a** for us back in the day. Her night schooling paid off and she got a really good job in accounting, and also met my stepfather, and is no longer in that financial position."
"She did really well by me ensuring I got a good education, and I, too, am doing well in life."
~ DonKiddic
What's something good you remember your parent(s) doing for you?
