Shout Out To My Mom & Dad

Parents make you crazy! Some parents are over-involved some are under-involved but all seem to make their kids crazy. If not every moment, than at least some amount of the time.

I think I already make little Jack crazy. I fawn over him, kiss him, flip him, chase him, hug him and so on every chance I get. And if I'm not doing it, Susie is. Sometimes I think he would say, "stop, leave me alone for a minute". But, alas, he can't say that yet and therefore, we just keep on going...making him crazy.

I can see making Jack crazy the rest of his life. I already know I won't deal well with any suffering he may have to endure at any age. I probably will always want to help or fix it. I'll probably always want to be on his good side and never be in confrontation with him...especially when he's an adult. I'm sure I'll think, "he's got to get through this on his own" and then I'll rush to help him or come across as "how can I fix this for you" even when I'm trying not to come across that way at all.

My parents are the best...they always want to help me and my family and always have. My dad is the king of tragic reality and is the perfect superhero when it comes to bailing you out of a jam. My mother is the queen of positivity and "look on the brightside". The two of them together make me crazy...probably because they make me feel like they want me to be happy every second of my life which we all know is impossible and probably not even desirable.

The fact is, every interaction with them, every time they watch Jack, pretty much everything they do is directed at making me and my family happy even when it can't possibly achieve this goal. I guess this makes me crazy because sometimes they can't help. One thing is for sure though, I'm incredibly lucky to have parents like them.

The other day, my father came to babysit Jack while we went to Universal Studios for the evening to see the Doobie Brothers. While upstairs, I overheard a conversation he had with a friend on the phone. I heard my father indicate to his friend that he was going to be babysitting for the evening. Apparently the friend expressed his remorse and suggested that my father was somehow being dooped. I heard my father say something to the effect of, "no, I love spending time with my grandson, I want to do it". The exchanges went on for a few minutes as one man tried to convince another that spending time with his grandson was desirable, not a chore.

Thanks dad and mom....I think a great deal of parents and grandparents feel they way you do about their grandson/son but not many show it through their actions consistently the way you two do. You certainly are not under-involved and I know that I won't ever be that with my son because of you. You make me crazy and I hope I make Jack crazy just the same...well maybe not exactly the same.