Member-only story
My Parents Lied to Me, and I BetYours Did Too
A lot of what we’ve been told isn’t true, or not as true as we’re led to believe
My daughter will be 17 years old this month. We’re quickly approaching the stage where she goes off to college and begins the solo portion of her life travels. I’m equal parts excited and don’t-you-dare-even-talk-about-it- yet-because-she’s-still-my-baby. However, I do my best to focus on the former rather than the latter. We talk a lot, and she recently told me that she appreciates how much I’ve spoken with her and not at her and how I’ve given her wisdom about life. I told her that I’ve done my best to learn from those who walked before us — both in the things they did well and the areas where they could have improved. I told her how I had to learn that some of the things my parents told/taught me were either untrue or untrue for me. But that’s the thing as parents. You do the best you can, and you hope you don’t mess up too badly.
If you grew up around adults as I’m sure most of us did, there’s a strong chance that those adults told you things. Their goal was to guide you, give you instructions on how to live this here thing called life. They imparted what they believed was wisdom to help you navigate. They were well-intentioned, at least I choose to believe they were. However, in their benevolent attempts…
