Me and my beautiful mom. She’s my parent. My dad too, but she’s prettier!

A parent is someone who loves you enough to parent you and that’s the topic of the latest episode of Flaws Are the New Black . My feeling is that those who love you enough to do the hard work of saying go to bed, put your phone down, study or you’re not going out this weekend, are your parents. That person could be your mom and dad. Could be the mother of your best friend, your aunt, or your grandpa. Whoever LOVES you that much, so much that sometimes you hate them and they don’t care, that person is your parent. For me, it’s my mom and dad. But it doesn’t have to be that way and it isn’t that way for everyone.

What I witnessed at Wendy’s memorial service

Recently, I attended a beautiful memorial service for my friend, Wendy, and was so deeply touched by the number of her sons’ friends who stood up to talk about how when they had no one, their parents for whatever reason had dropped out of their lives, Wendy stepped in to parent them. She mothered them. Loved them. Fed them to within an inch of their lives. She stepped in and parented them. That’s what I’m talking about. There was no way those young men were falling through the cracks on her watch.

Who’s your parent?

Maybe it was your mom and dad. Maybe it was your aunt, a cousin, your best friend’s mom or dad. Whoever it was, embrace that person. Tell them right now, before another moment goes by, how much they mean to you. Use that device we’re all enamored with — the cell phone — to make a real, live phone call. And simply say thank you, I love you, I wouldn’t be here today without you.

A note of thanks from me, to you

To all of you who’ve re-subscribed to my blog posts (because I had a bit of a snafu and lost all my subscribers — eek!), to all of my friends from Ridgefield, New Jersey, Mount St. Mary’s University (hi Kaitlyn!), and dozens of others who’ve subscribed to Flaws Are The New Black, thank you so very much. Thank you for your comments and compliments, likes and shares. Your presence on this journey lets me know that what I have to say, need to say, means something. And that means everything to me as a writer.

Now go, pick up the phone, and thank your parent (or parents). You’ll thank me.

Love,

Susan

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