Twenty-somethings are busy. We're either in college, finding big-kid jobs or scavenging for food and cheap wine. Our twenties are a magical time when we're finding who we are and where we belong in the adult world. We can get away with partying a little too hard and can handle staying up a little too late. We're finding adventures with new friends while appreciating the old friends who have always had our backs. However, we sometimes get so caught up in everything that we forget about the ones who have had our backs all along.
I'm talking about our parents.
They went from being our caregivers to our authoritative figures to our...friends? At the risk of sounding lame and making my mom cry (hi, Mom), my parents are two of my best friends. They didn't just raise me but they passed along their interests, quirks and twisted senses of humor. Our family dynamic obviously changed as soon as I moved away from home but I'd say that it took moving back home for the summer for it to really sink in. Like, they're real people. They're real, normal people with their own hobbies and aspirations.
Obviously, I always knew that they had more going on in their lives that didn't revolve around me, but as a teenager, I didn't think that I'd go antiquing with my dad or make chocolate martinis with my mom. I didn't realize that we'd have a crazy amount of inside jokes that make no sense to anyone else or that I'd ever ever miss my dad randomly singing the wrong words to songs. I'd never understood why people said I acted just like my mom when she was my age or why they thought my dad was so funny whenever he was driving me insane. Now, I get it. It's weird, but I get it.
Your parents love you and I'd bet that they share at least a few similarities with you. While you may have fall-outs within your friend group and there are always times when you don't know who to trust, never forget the ones who want only the very best for you. Before life gets too crazy and before you begin to start a family of your own, take a bit of time to bond with Mom and Dad. Your twenties are the perfect time to begin a friendship with your parents that is built on more than just being a part of the same family.
Call your mom. She'd love it.
