I got smarter

by J. Patrick Reilly

I was talking to the parent of a couple teenagers who told me her children don’t feel she does anything right.

“When did they get so smart?” I asked her and she gave me a puzzled look.

For me it was been there, done that as both a teenager a long time ago and a parent who survived five teenagers.

My parents could do nothing right when I was a teenager and then it was my turn when my children reached their teen years.

But then something happened.  My parents got very smart as I got into life as an adult.  I realized that they did what they had to do to steer me in the right direction.  They were there for me, picking me up when I needed it. And that did not stop with my teenage years. They were with me and helping me be a good person until they left this earth.

With the talks I have with my children apparently I got smarter too.  They ask me for advice and I give it the best I can.

We need to respect those who have ben there for us and have been there in life.  Their experience is valuable.

And so it their love.