- My mom always made time to listen to me, no matter how busy she was. like, i’d come home stressed about school or life, and she’d sit with me and just let me vent without judgment. it’s something that stuck with me, and i’ll never forget how much that helped. made me feel like i wasn’t alone in dealing with stuff.
- When I was struggling with my first breakup, my mom showed up with a tub of ice cream and a playlist of all my favorite sad songs. We had a mini dance party in the living room—moved from tears to laughter in no time. That little gesture made me feel like I could survive anything.
- I hated school. Few friends. I didn’t want to be there. And I didn’t enjoy reading. Which made school that much harder. Mom came home from hitting garage sales one Saturday with a grocery bag of sci-fi books. Which I devoured! I was reading one or two books a day over the summer. This helped me in school. While I didn’t thrive. Life was much easier Without that boost, I can’t guess how my life would have evolved. How did she know?
- My mom waiting at home with a cup of tea and cookies everyday coming home from school. That’s how I’d describe “home”.
- My periods were really severe when I was a teen. I am talking heavy bleeding full 7 days and a fever. Every month my dad would get me my duvet and pillow from upstairs, make a hot water bottle, get me my favourite movie from the video (rental) store, get some ice cream and chocolate as well. Settle me on the couch and pamper me for the first 2 days that were the heaviest. He died when I just turned 18. Ever since, every month on my heaviest day I get myself some ice cream and chocolate and either put on a dvd or stream a movie. Settle myself on my couch with a hot water bottle and duvet + pillow (now I have a weigthed blanket that I use) and pamper myself for one whole day.
- They made me pay rent when I got my first job and I hated it. On my 18th bday they gave me access to “my” bank account. They saved it all up for me, so I could decorate my first apartment for free… i love them
- My parents made my sister pay them $500 a month for rent while she lived at home past her mid 20s into her 30s. she was always really bitter about it. meanwhile, my dad (who is a notorious story re-teller) had told all of us multiple times a story about how he knew someone who did something similar for a kid living at home. when it came time for my sister to buy a house, they gave her all the money they had been saving for her
- My dad always apologized when he was wrong. I used to take it for granted until I grew up and realized a LOT of people had never gotten an apology from their parents before. This really helped me because I find it easy to own up to my mistakes and make amends where necessary.
- I never really noticed it at the time, but all the sacrifices my mother did for me and my brother. We were poor (Not dirt poor, but still), so eating out was a luxury that we rarely had. My mom would buy my brother and I hamburgers, and she would say that she didn’t wanted to eat because she was either on a diet, not hungry, already ate, etc. while in truth, she didn’t had anything in her stomach, and to make sure that there was enough food until the next paycheck came, she would eat only a salt cracker. I was an idiotic, moody teenager, and gave her such a hard time, that part of me wants to slap my 13 to 18yo self for my attitude back then. Instead of doing whatever I did back then, I should’ve studied and gotten better grades to help her feel more at ease.
- They never forget to always remind us, that we are not restricted in anything we do that makes us happy but we should take things into consideration and be responsible for it. More importantly with what should be our priorities.
- My father, even when we were hard up for money (my mom took him to the cleaners in the divorce because her lawyer slept with the judge presiding over the case, that’s a whole other ball of wax) made a deal with me that he upheld for six years. Every month I would get a new video game. We’d alternate months — One month I’d get to choose, and I’d favor the new hotness or things I was obsessed with (think Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy etc.) and on the alternating month, he’d get to choose the title, and he’d pick cheaper stuff, lesser known stuff, or a genre I wouldn’t normally choose. And what was my part in this bargain? We couldn’t go get next month’s game until I’d written a game review for him. He wanted it done as if I was going to have it published in GameInformer or EGM and for me to include screenshots and what I thought of it as the specific type of gamer I was, and what I thought as a gamer at large. Sometimes there were real stinkers and it was hard to put 20-30 hours into it or churn out a review so we missed a few months here and there, but by and large I got to play a ton of games and was often excited to pen my thoughts to paper so we could talk about it over dinner. He made a considerable effort to share with me in the things I was enthusiastic about, and helped me hone my writing and critical thinking skills, and I learned to broaden my perspectives not just with video games but more generally. And he read every single one of my reviews and talked with me about them almost every month without fail from ages 11 to 17. Twenty years later and I still well up thinking about it. In my wildest imaginings I could not ever dream up a father so excellent at fathering. Love you dad. Miss you.
- I’ll never forget when my parents helped me with a school project late at night. Their support really meant a lot to me.
- Saving me from that orphanage.
- They paid my way through college, which meant that I started my adult life with zero debt. I’ve thanked them for it.
- My mom once told me I could be anything I wanted, so I told her I wanted to be a dinosaur. Instead of shutting me down, she spent a week helping me practice my roar. Not sure if that was good parenting or just her way of keeping me busy, but I’ll never forget it!
- Strict with my education. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted (hobbies, extracurricular etc) but school always had to come first. Instilled a good work ethic in me from a young age.
- Moved us halfway around the world so I could have a better life. Two great kids and six wonderful grandkids later, I still don’t know how to thank them, especially now they’re gone.
- My parents always made sure we had family dinners every night. Looking back, those moments kept us connected even when life got busy, and it’s something I want to continue with my own family one day.
- Mom made me spaghetti for my birthday. We was on a really tight budget but she still provided me one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had
- Always having a safe place I can come and crash without judgment. My husband and I lived with them for 5 months recently with our cat and dog so we could finance IVF and rent our house out. I thought it would be stressful sharing with them for that time but it was lovely. I had a pregnancy two months in and was stressed of losing it (from previous losses) but we would all celebrate (tentatively) every milestone, going out for dinner or something – every blood test where my hormones were going in the right direction. We’re back home and I’m 33 weeks and I don’t know if we could have done it without their support.
- Stepped into their bedroom because I thought they were being attacked by a ghost… I was 7 and they were NOT being attacked by a ghost
- Taught me the ‘don’t tell your mother’ technique. Thanks to Dad, I now have a black belt in sneaking extra snacks and getting away with questionable decisions.
- Telling me to stay at home, save money, not rent an apartment, and save for a house. Bought my house in 2019. Definitely lucked out.
- One of the best things my parents did for me was always encouraging me to pursue my passions, no matter how unconventional they seemed. I remember when I was younger, I was really into art, but it wasn’t seen as a “practical” career choice. Instead of discouraging me, my parents enrolled me in art classes and bought me supplies. Their support made me believe in myself and gave me the confidence to follow my dreams. Even though I didn’t end up choosing art as a career, that unconditional support taught me the value of following my heart, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
- Instilled in me a love for reading.
- We were pretty poor when I was growing up. Couldn’t afford college so I was working two jobs after high school to support myself & help out my parents, one of whom was disabled. My Mom would sometimes wake me up with homemade biscuits, brought to me in bed. She couldn’t do much to help me get far in life, but showed love the best way she could. Once when I was twelve, I was having a very difficult period, and being new to this whole thing, I was pretty scared. Dad (who had been a medic in WW2) came in and sat beside me and gently asked me non-invasive but insightful questions about my pain level, etc. He was very reassuring; then he hugged me and said, “Daddy knows more about little girls than he lets on.” He never asked again but it was good to know that he understood. I miss those two characters.
- When I was a kid my dad was incredibly critical of the music I listened to. Which is ironically funny because the music he listened to was bands like Twisted Sister—a band that literally went in front of Congress to fight parents that hated their music so much. Anyway, I remember when I was around 13 he all the sudden started listening to the same music as me. I remember bonding over “The Eminem Show” album with him. I’d find out later (from my mom) that he’d apparently gotten tired of arguing with me all the time over what I listened to, and made an active effort to enjoy the same music that I did. It’s funny though, because to this day—20+ years later—he is more “in the know” of new music than I am. He loves Rhianna and T-Swift. He introduces me to new songs. His page 1 presets in his car are all “today’s hits” type stations. He’s still the single best air guitarist I’ve ever met and will definitely still bump some hair bands. But he’ll also bust out that air guitar to some Biebs lmao.
- I’m adopted and I have never once felt like I was weird or unwanted or anything like that. I was raised knowing I was adopted, I was taught it was normal and not some embarrassing dark secret, and I’ve known my whole life that my family loves me. That’s priceless
- One thing I’ll never forget is when my parents saved up for months to take me to my first concert. I was so excited, and they didn’t just get me tickets ,they made a whole day out of it! We went out for dinner, and my mom even made a homemade ‘concert T-shirt’ for me. I still remember the look on their faces when I saw my favorite band perform live,it made me feel so loved and supported
- Helping and teaching me in answering my homework back in the days.
- They took me hiking in the Slovakian mountains regularly. I’ve learned to climb, endure suffering and appreciate the beauty of nature. That was an awesome gift and I’m forever thankful for it.
- Supported me unconditionally during tough times without judgment.
- When I was 14, I lost one of my best friends to an aggressive abdominal cancer. The day it happened, I came home from school and cried to my dad. He worked from home while my mom worked at an office and wouldn’t be home for hours. I guess he didn’t really know what to do because he ended up taking me to Walmart to get a new hair dryer (which I didn’t really need). The next day, I skipped school with some of my other best friends who knew her, and we got caught by my friend’s mom, who drove us to school, and of course the school called our parents. When my dad found out, he told me he would let it slide this time, but it better not happen again. My dad was extremely strict about school and would not have let me stay home, so for him to give me a pass for not only missing school but skipping was unbelievable to me. I appreciated it at the time, but in hindsight, especially now that I have a daughter of my own, it makes me a little teary to think about my strict father, faced with his young teenager who just lost her best friend to a vicious, ugly cancer, buying me a hair dryer and resisting the urge to ground me for a month because he just felt sad for me and had no way to fix it, so he did what he could to make me feel better.
- Making sure my friends with not so great home life had food and clothing
- grateful my parents bought me things. Even in school growing up my mom always made me lunch for school before going to work, which I’m grateful for.
- Giving the best advice in all of my problems. They always had the best answer. Missing my dad
- My dad gave me my work ethic he didn’t just tell me to work hard he worked hard and set an example yet he’d always be there for every sports game or school event
- Set me up to enjoy classical music and reading. It has made appear more intelligent and also probably actually made me more intelligent. For an ESL kid (first gen immigrant), I speak really good accent free good English.
- My mom stayed with me at the hospital every night for 6 months during chemo 🥰
- My mom learned to speak English while working 3 jobs just so she could take me any my brother and move to England. She applied for jobs from abroad, paid an absolute fortune to have a UK sim card sent to her and arranged to have a grand total of nearly 20 interviews over 3 days. By the end of it, she had 10 offers. At first, I felt really homesick but it actually didn’t take long to realise that she set me up for a life full of opportunities that I wouldn’t even dream of if we stayed. I know she did it for us but I was over the moon to have my mom back. She didn’t need to bust her ass 18h every day just to stay afloat even when I helped as much as I could with the peanuts I earned from the back breaking after school work. One day she just said “fuck this shit, it all changes now” and it really did. I still find it hard to express in words how much grit and resolve it took to pull that shit and she did it like it was nothing. Unfortunately, she passed way too young but I am glad that she got to see me wear that silly graduation hat and become successful. Thanks for everything mom, I will be forever grateful and will always credit you with whatever I achieved/will achieve in life. I miss you every day.