Day 03: The Parental Supervision

These are my parents. Someone once referred to them as Barbie and Ken, which I found mildly hilarious. (And quite possibly true. I mean, look at them.)

He plays the guitar. She plays the piano. He sings. She doesn’t. She’s good at math. He isn’t. She is a runner, and so is he. He is a human performance and organizational coach. She is a landscape designer. They do yoga. They are in love.

While most marriages seem to be falling apart, my parents are falling deeper into love every single day. They make out on the couch and at the grocery store and in the car. While the car is in motion. It’s fine.

I have his personality and her cheekbones.

Yesterday, they were teaching me not to run into the road. Today, they are teaching me how to drive upon that road. Yesterday, they were watching me breathe while I slept. Today, I am creeping into their room around midnight and kissing their temples. Yesterday, they were teaching me how to add. Today, they are checking my grades obsessively to make sure I get a good grade in College Preparation math. Yesterday, they were reading my stories about pixies and bunny rabbits. Today, they are watching me write and begging me to write professionally. Yesterday, they were listening to me screech on my violin. Today, they are hearing me play Bach concertos and sing in front of large crowds. Yesterday, they were running as I rode my bike next to them. Today, they are sending me out to run miles on my own. Yesterday, they put me into dance class. Today, they are watching me do pirouettes on pointe.

Tomorrow, I’m going to live outside of their house. And I will miss our arguments about my skirt being too short or my grade being too low.

Some days, they are my best friends. Other days, they are my parents. I guess that’s just the way things go. I love them very much and I know they reciprocate those feelings. "I love you to the stars and back," I said in elementary school. "I loved you first," my dad would say. "Do I get a kiss?" was my mom's constant question. I love them to the stars and back. It's very true.

Keep your chin up in the face of adversity.

All my love, Addy