Many books have been written about parenting. Nowadays you even have books for gay parents and for those people who have adopted a child. Whatever parent you are, there is a book out there for you and not just one, many of them. You can read them all and still screw up your child 😄 There is no guarantee that you will not scar your child for life with a wrong sentence in a certain situation, and yes, that does sound scary but let me bring your mind to ease. You are not responsible for everything your child does and thinks. At some point, your little bundle of joy will have to take responsibility for his or hers actions and leave the comfort of your nest behind to start a new life. You could trouble yourself with those thoughts how things would have been different if you had just done that thing differently when he was five or said a different thing in that situation when she was fifteen. You can not change the past and you did the best you could with what you had and who you were back then. At some point, you need to give yourself some credit. You were the best possible parent you could have been. You loved and still love your children and you gave them everything you could. They should be and probably are, grateful. This post is not for you as a parent, this post is for you as a child.

There is this thing called a generational difference. Of course, you will not have the same opinions on things as your parents, let me tell you a little secret. They had not had either with their parents (your grandparents). There are however some things that remained the same throughout generations. Those things are LOVE and GRATITUDE. You parents love or loved you. If they loved you, I am sorry for your loss, they still do love you, just not from this dimension anymore and they are watching over you in this way or another and they are living through you and all they have thought you. If you are blessed and still have your parents alive, do not miss the chance to show your gratitude whenever you can, even if you resent them for some things. They still had a great impact on you and are one of the reasons for you being you. You are walking because they thought you, using a fork and spoon, and they are so many things that you know because of them. Maybe it is driving, playing sports or fixing a car, maybe it is cooking. You have so much to be grateful for. Think about all those simple life lessons you learned from them.

Over 20 years ago I was doing some choirs with my father in the city. I think I was some 10 years old or so. When we walked out of the last store there was a bus stop a couple of feet behind us and one that was in front of us but further away, some 5 minutes of walking. I wanted to go back, since the stop was right there, almost next to us, but no. My father insisted that we go to the further one because that was in front of us and in our direction. He said:

This was probably the greatest thing my father has ever thought me and I will always remember it. The second thing I learned from him is to respect diversity and approach every human being with an open mind and hearth. There was no room for prejudice, not ever.

My mother taught me about personal power and strength. It was very important to her to teach me that I can do and be anything I want. Just because I am a woman does not give me the justification to not be able to do the things the men do if I wanted to do them. Every atom of my strength and personal power that I have I owe to her. She taught me how to read and she encouraged me to read. She always gave me books and puzzles and crosswords. She always says:

But enough about me, what did your parents teach you? What are you grateful for? What are those gentle wisdom thingies that you carry around because of them? There are so many and many you are not even aware of. Thank your parents. They did not only give you life which is a great and amazing thing to start with but they gave you so much more. I have to thank @steemflow for inspiring me to write about this. You can read his great post and find inspiration for writing about your parents here: 10 SBD Giveway Contest : Celebrating 1000 Follower You can even win some SBD-s for participating in his celebration. So tell me, what are you grateful for? What did your parents give you that is now a part of you?