Your father and I were talking tonight about our role models for parenting.  It seems like we both had a mixed bag while thinking back on our own experiences growing up… In some cases, it was easier to list anti-role models and things we would have wished we had from our own parents, rather than ideals.  However, as we sat there, we ended up creating a list of quite a few of our hopes for ourselves as parents to you two. 

Carmen and Carolyn, as parents, we promise to try our damnedest to…

-Nurture your creativity.

-Acknowledge your achievements and positive points at least twice as often as we acknowledge your faults, mistakes and shortcomings.

-Give you a great foundation for learning.  We will stockpile books and resources, be an active part of your schooling, and explore the world together.

-Provide for your basic education, through college, as best we can.

-Listen to what you have to say, and always let you know that you’ve been heard.

-Never let you doubt that you are loved.

-Be your best support, no matter what your endeavors.

-Not fail you when it comes to providing your basic needs and keeping you safe.

-Hug you as often as you want hugging, plus some.

-Laugh with you, connect with you, and smile at you.

-Never let you feel as if you’ve been abandoned or lost… physically or emotionally.

-Never scoff at your accomplishments, theories, your hurts or your sense of wonder.

-Do what we can to make your life as enriching and comfortable as possible, all the while teaching you how to continue that path when we’re not able to anymore.

-Instill in you the basis of our values, morals and ethics and let you choose which are helpful to you.

-Help you evaluate things in life objectively so that you can make better decisions.  (If you believe everything you hear or see, we haven’t done our job.)

-Strive to be great role models by actively doing what we ask of you.

-Nourish your body, encourage you to be physically active, and teach you how to continue doing that when you “leave the nest.”

-Record our stories and visual/audio memories for you and your kids.

-Be your ally, not your adversary.  Be a source of blatant truth and (hopefully) wisdom.

-Never hold you back from your potential achievements.

-Have a place you can come home to, or just to be here to talk to, no matter what your age.

-Respect you.  Never insult, mock, or injure you.

More than that, our intent is that you would have a life a little less hard than we had it and be better people than we are/were. That you, in turn, will do the same for your kids (should you choose to have any) and your world. “Every Generation, just a little bit better.”