My Hopes & My Dreams...

My parents always wanted the best for me & my brother. They always told us that they would measure their own success by how successful we were & that they wanted us to achieve so much more than they ever did. They have set the bar pretty high but we're striving for it.

I think that is an amazing way to raise your children. That's how I'm trying to raise my son.

My parents also kept us aware that their standard of living was not our standard of living. So many kids move out & try to have the same lifestyle that their parents' have without recognizing that it took their parents decades to get there.

My parents always told us, sarcastically of course, "We're very rich, you're very poor. We have lots of money, you have none." It sounds horrible in writing but it was such a good value to instill in us. That the things we enjoyed in their house were things we would have to earn & be responsible for on our own.

My son is always going through all the things he could be when he grows up. He mentions dirt bike rider, paleontologist, garbage truck driver, archaeologist. We always tell him that he can be whatever he wants as soon as he finishes college. And that is the truth.

I hope he takes advantage of the opportunities that he will have. He'll have even more than I did. And I didn't take advantage of mine at all. I didn't squander them, certainly, but I didn't appreciate them.

My parents would have paid for me to go anywhere to school & I had the grades to have lots of options, but I went to a party school & I partied. I had lots of fun but it took me several extra years to finish college.

I played on the golf team & was too busy partying to take it seriously.

I hope my son is smarter than I was. From what I can see, he already is.

Some parents seem to want their children to not be as successful as they are. Instead of feeling proud they feel threatened.

I think it's because if a child is more successful than the parent then they won't feel needed any longer. I see that with my Mother-In-Law sometimes. Her favorites are the ones that need her the most. And I see it in her oldest daughter with her children. She does not want them to be more successful than her & her husband.

I will measure my success by the success of my child. He doesn't have to be wealthy but he does have to be happy, well adjusted & satisfied for me to feel like I did my job.

I thank my parents all the time for the values they gave me. And for the pride they show in their children's success.

Have a wonderful day!