First of all, to those of you who have both, or either, or any of your parents still alive- you are lucky. Secondly, if you did not grow close to your biological parents and have somebody else that you see as or call mom or dad, you are doubly lucky that somebody loves you so much that they proudly claim you as their own. Thirdly, if you have your parents and other adults in your life that you refer to as you would a parent, consider yourself to be three times as blessed.

Some people have no relationship with their parents, and others deal with poor ones. For a number of us, our adolescence either brought us closer to the parental figures in our lives, or created distance. As we become older some of us will have to work harder to create or keep relations with our moms and dads.

If you have great parents in your life who want to show up at all of your games, take pictures of and with you at every event and milestone, and want to tag you in every “I love my kid” minions Facebook post out there, let them. If they want to be that parent that screams at the top of their lungs as you get your diploma, brags to everyone at the family reunion about your latest achievement. For most parents, their greatest accomplishment will be you and all that you set out to accomplish. Their livelihood will not be their job as much as it will be seeing a smile on your face and giving you every bit of themselves that they can muster, even if you don’t see or understand it.

There are still times when I don’t see or understand it, and I’m sure there will continue to be instances where I do not understand the purpose behind the actions of my parents.

All of us get into fights with our parents and disagree on various topics. Disagreements just mean that your parents are raising you to be your own person and not a carbon copy of themselves, even if they know that by not making you their clone you may end up straying away from one another. If they are willing to take that risk, you should be too. Take the risk gratefully, as they sacrifice for you with all the gratitude and love in their hearts.

As someone who grew up asking my parents to chaperone every school dance, every field trip, and work as a stagehand for every school production, I can tell you that having your parents around to see and watch what makes you you is so worth it. I know people growing up who made it very clear that they thought their parents were losers. Your friends may think you’re uncool when you’re younger for chilling with mom and dad, but who cares about being cool when your parents think you’re the best thing since sliced bread? Let them smother you and love you and baby you and spoil you as much as they can, because one day, they won’t.

I get that maybe it makes you seem like you’re too dependent on your parents or you’re a mama’s boy or whatever. If that’s the case, allow me to finish this analogy by saying grow a pair and recognize that thankfulness is one of the best forms of love.

I can guarantee you that one day you will miss being bear-hugged and blinded by flashing camera lights.

Sincerely,

Someone Who Has the Coolest Parents Ever