The influence of parents

My mom and me a couple days before my wedding.

When I was thinking about the influence others have in our lives, I thought about the immense influence my parents have had on me. This weekend my mom came to Las Vegas to celebrate Evan's birthday with us, and I had such a great time with her. She is honestly my best friend. I have learned so much from her and my dad. The more I meet people, the longer I parent, the older I get, the more I realize what good examples they were and are for me. So indulge me, please, as I share some important things I learned through my parents' examples, even if I am still trying to live up to them.

My parents are incredibly non-judgemental. I remember many times sharing with my dad my frustration with something someone had done. He would always say something like, "maybe they were having a bad day." And I grew up knowing that everyone is just as important as another - no matter what their color, profession, background, personality or anything. Now when I interact with others, I try not to judge them before I know them and give them the benefit of the doubt when I do. (Again, still working on this!) And when my mother offers her advice when I need it, I know that she is not judging me, but trying to help. I know that anyone could go to her for advice and feel comfortable knowing that she would try to help them without changing her opinion of them or judging them. I hope I can be like that some day.

Another thing I admire about my parents is that they are very forgiving. In fact, I remember many times wishing my dad would stay upset with me because I felt bad about something I had done. It would take a whole lot for him to hold a grudge. And my mother has forgiven and forgotten a lot in her life. I know that I have been the beneficiary of my parents forgiving nature and I hope I can give the same to others in my life.

When I think about my life I am also amazed at how supportive they have always been of what my brother or I wanted to do. They gave me music lessons, let me choose where to go to school and what to study, helped me with anything else I wanted to do. When my brother graduated high school my dad let him know that he could go to school or go on a mission and he would support whatever he chose. I have always known that we were important to them and therefore so were our interests, pursuits and decisions. I hope my boys will know that too.

I guess I will leave it at that for now. I'm sorry if it was a bit cheesy, but it has been on my mind. I am so grateful for my parents - for everything they have done and continue to do for me. I am glad that my children will have these examples in their grandparents to look to as they grow up. As my mom was leaving today, Jordan kept wimpering in the car, "play Grandma more." I told him she needed to go home, but inside I was thinking, "me too buddy, me too."