1. My parents have shown me that being of service to other people makes me feel good. I'm not talking about donating money, or mowing lawns, or feeding the poor here. What I mean is doing good things for others. Telling my boyfriend I love him every day. Calling my children on a regular basis. Making the bed. Cleaning up after a mess, even when I didn't make it. Letting someone into the lane when I'm driving and they've been waiting for a while. Smiling at a stranger in the grocery store. These small things make me happy and I'm not going to stop now.
2. They never made me feel poor. We always had what we needed, we never felt poor. We were DIRT poor I realize as I've grown up. My dad had to struggle and work really hard for the little money that we DID make. But we always had what we needed. We had food, a nice house, cars, clothes, friends, birthday presents, etc. Even when I asked for a Cabbage Patch Kid when I was in second grade we couldn't afford it, so my mom made me one instead of buying one. She even had a cabbage patch label on her overalls. Of course she didn't look quite the same, but I treasured her more than any other doll I ever got. A few years later I received a REAL cabbage patch doll and the two were sisters. I have both of them to this day, I will NEVER get rid of those dolls. Proof that my parents just wanted us to have what we wanted and would do whatever it took to achieve that.
3. All through high school, my mom packed my lunch because I am such a picky eater. I HATED school lunch. When I was younger my mom would put notes in my lunchbox that said things like "Have a nice day. I love you." because I missed my mom and was pretty anxious about leaving for a whole school day while she was at home. I'm thankful for those notes and for the yummy food I had.
4. Support. Lots of it. My dad would always support me, even though sometimes as first he'd be really angry. For instance, he was always willing to give me $5 even if it was the last $5 in his wallet. I was thankful. My parents always babysit my kids, for free which is above & beyond the call of grandparent duty. They always let me stay in their home for free. They gave me rides 24 miles in the middle of the night when I was working late and couldn't drive. The list goes on & on & on.
5. My dad was friendly toward everyone. Even complete strangers. This used to embarass me. I'd think "Why is talking to that man about the price of milk?" but then I realized as I got older that small talk is rare. People get busy in their daily lives and forget to just be nice to each other. We need to do that more often. It doesn't matter if the person smiles back, or talks back to you, and really... who cares? Be the FIRST one to say hello.
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