As a side note, my mother made very huge mistakes raising/disciplining us. She is so painfully aware of this that when I became a parent and she a grandparent, she has never ever given unsolicited advice about how to raise or handle my children. I cannot tell you how wonderful that has been and is!!! I am so thankful for that because it would caused a lot of problems between us and our relationship as her being the grandparent and me being the mother to my children. Every once in awhile my father in law gives a little unsolicited advice or unwelcome opinion about our kids and it immediately ruffles my feathers…not good. A parent who was not a very good parent, shouldn’t offer any unsolicited advice as a grandparent. Now days there are countless parenting books that have great ideas for parenting.

A college degree doesn’t mean a person is successful on the inside or has strong moral character. We do want our kids to be academically successful and go to college, etc., but in the end, THE most important to us is that our children grow up becoming people of good character (having a personal relationship with God, which out of that, is being kind, loving, forgiving, patient, loyal, hardworking, etc.). We hope that they will own it for themselves.

my rules were simple: my needs come before your wants; your needs come before my wants; if needs collide, prioritize. don’t embarrass me in public or you’ll get it twice back. ask me once, the answer is
‘maybe’; ask me twice, the answer is ‘no’. it’s not my job to buy you treats – it’s your job to make me want to. if what you’re doing will get you hurt, you’ll get hurt.

made life ever so much simpler and easier.