http://groups.google.co.in/group/v-care-v-share/web/mean-mom
MEAN MOM
AS A TEENAGER I SAID: Parents aren't perfect, you know.
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the
whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have
cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for
lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us
a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we
were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and
what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be
gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child
Labour Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the
beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and empty the trash
and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night
thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us
telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the
time we were teenagers; she could read our minds and had eyes in the
back of her head. Then, life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up.
They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone
else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were
16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids
experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalising
others' property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her
fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are
doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is
what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean
moms!
Some day when my children are old enough to understand the logic that
motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:
I loved you enough... to ask where you were going, with whom, and what
time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new or
best friends were creeps.
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned
your room, a job that should have taken me just 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in
my eyes.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your
actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my
heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough... to say "NO" when I knew you
would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them,
because in the end you won, too.
And some day when your children are old enough to understand the logic
that motivates parents, you will tell them.
You Are Fortunate if, Your Mom Is 'Mean'
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