Meet the parents

Sorry, couldn't resist ;)  I have the best parents in the world.  They are loving, nurturing, supportive, helpful, funny, hard working, encouraging, understanding, just as crazy as I am and generally fun to be around.  Yes, I could go on, but I thought using every positive adjective in the English language might be a bit much. 

My mom is the most relaxed, easy to get along with person you've ever met.  You'll often hear her say "the last thing I want to do is make anyone's life harder" and she goes to great lengths to make everyone's lives easier and better.  My mom is the one who finally convinced me to start fostering, too.  I had been saying I was going to do it for years (since high school) but had started talking more and more about it and finally she just said, "when are you going to stop talking about it and start doing it?" which was such an eye opener for me.  It was such a gentle push, and just what I needed.  Mom is that person who somehow always knows what you need.  Not only does she have a big heart, she has a big brain and big muscles, too!  Mom works as a special education aide at a local high school and despite the fact that she has no college education, the teachers often look to her for advice on how to teach a struggling student, how to solve a certain math problem (I was a math minor and I swear she knows more math than I do!) or how to handle a difficult situation.  She is an incredibly strong person, physically, mentally and emotionally.  I often tease her that Dad doesn't have to do anything around the house because if he waits long enough, she'll figure out how to do it herself!

My dad can do anything.  He's a big bear of a guy (great for scaring off a creepy date, if you need ;) ) and super strong, but one of the most gentle people I've ever known.  He's a typical guy who would rather discuss motorcycles and cigars than feelings, but he's never let me down when I needed a shoulder to cry on.  There are very few things that I don't talk to my mom about, but in those instances, I always know I can talk to my dad. 

I know I've already said it, but I have the absolute best parents in the entire world.  I mean, I know some great parents, but until you break into your daughter's house (okay, they didn't really break in, they had a key) to put together a new bed for a foster kid who's coming the next day (yes, this happened almost 2 years ago, but it made a big impact!), you're just not even on the same playing field!  I'm so lucky to love parents who are everything I could ever want and more!