I have a challenge for you.

First, sit down and take a minute to think about everything your parents have done for you throughout your life. Think about every dinner they ever made for you, and every dinner you made for yourself with the food they bought and stocked your home with. Think about every extra curricular activity they showed up for, and everyone they had to miss to help pay for your equipment for that activity. Think about the times that you were sick and they provided you with medicine and a warm bed to get better, or took you to the doctor when you weren’t getting better. Think about the homework assignments that they spent hours helping you with, and the ones they helped you with in 30 seconds just by answering a single question. Think about the money they gave you for lunches, the lunches they packed for you, and the food they provided so that you could pack your own lunches. Think about the times you called them because you forgot your gym clothes and they brought them into school for you so that you wouldn’t get a zero for participation, and think about the times they couldn’t bring the clothes in for you because they were at work, striving to earn enough to buy you those gym clothes in the first place. Think about those times when you fought with them and told them that you hated them, and remember that they kept on loving you anyway.

For everything your parents did for you when you were little there are a million ways they have helped you in your adult life. Whether you think that your parents have nothing to do with the success you’ve achieved or you attribute every accomplished milestone to their influence in your life it’s important to remember that you wouldn’t be where you are, or who you are, today without them.

Now that you’ve thought about a few ways that your parents have influenced your past and helped mold you into your present self, I’d like you to think about the ways they are still currently influencing you. What are your parents still doing for you that is significantly improving your daily life? Are they providing you with a place to live while you finish out school or find a job that you can support yourself on? Are they inviting you to their social gatherings and introducing you to their network to help you grow your own? Are they giving you advice on what to do about the newest problem you’re encountering? Are they offering free babysitting so that your paycheck can go towards supporting your own family in other ways? Are they providing you with the kind of unconditional emotional support that only a parent can? Are they answering the phone (or calling you back) and answering the questions you’re asking with the answers you need to hear? Are they offering to help even while you’re pushing them away?

If your parents are still in your life, you aren’t doing life on your own. Like a tree, you may grow and flourish and branch out and blossom, but you wouldn’t be standing today if it weren’t for your roots.

Are you ready for your challenge? - Get up, call your parents, and thank them... for everything.