An open letter to my parents on Valentine's Day

...because they'd never pull a Susan Patton on me.

(originally written on 14 Feb 2014)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today a friend sent me a link to a Washington Post article written by a woman named Susan Patton. The article said a lot of things that made me feel a lot of feelings. And as I processed those feelings, the most dominant feeling that rose to the surface was gratitude. While I thank you for so many things in my life, this article made me want to thank you for four things in particular:

1. For always pushing me to seek my own truth. Because only I can know where my happiness lies and only I can follow the path that will lead me there. Along the way you continue to offer your sage wisdom, and when I refuse to take it to heart, you pick me up off my pile of failure that I eventually end up on and you kindly point me back in the right direction.

2. For bending the curve and paving the way during a time that still very much followed the cookie cutter timeline that Ms. Patton seems to think is the ultimate way to build a family. Luckily I have you as living proof of the joys that lie on the flip side of the coin. Thank you for enjoying your single life in your 20s and 30s and giving me and my brother a wonderful childhood in your 40s. I admire you for always living life to its fullest and never trying to keep up with any Joneses.

3. For encouraging me to obtain higher education; experiment with cooking; keep a tidy, well-decorated home; learn some DIY crafts and fix things myself when they're broken. Thank you for raising me to be a strong, confident, compassionate, resourceful, loyal, independent woman who is worthy of a great, earth-moving love if that happens to be where my path leads me.

And lastly I thank you for calling me every Valentine's Day, regardless of if I have a Valentine or not. And I thank you for making sure that when our call is over I feel more loved that I did before I answered your call, and not less worthy because I haven't found the "like-minded, age-appropriate single man" to call my husband. Thank you for the most excellent Valentine's Day straight talk-to have fun doing whatever it is that I have planned...even if my plans happen to be sushi for one.

Love you,
Liz