I had an experience yesterday that made me think I needed to tell you that not every parent I deal with is annoying. Yesterday I spoke at length with a mother whose daughter is going through some serious emotional trials. She has a lot on her plate. Mom was tearing herself up that she raised a child who was ill-equipped to deal with all the things that she is needing to. Mom was in tears in my office and I had to conduct an impromptu unofficial counseling session.
Mom didn't do anything wrong. She taught her daughter right from wrong and how to make good decicions based on her views of right and wrong. The problem the girl is dealing with is something that any of us would have difficulty with. When you have a tremendous loss in your life, who among us is well equipped to handle it, much less be dealing with the loss at the same time you start college? Some of us try to handle it within ourselves (that is how I deal with it), but some of us ask for help dealing with it. This girl is like me, but has gotten to the point where she can't go further without professional assistance. Mom is doing the best she can and like a loving mother, wants to help her daughter--not live her life for her (like the parents from a couple days ago), but give her the tools to live her own life well. Good job Mom!!!
That may not have made any sense to anyone but me, but it helped me just to get it off my chest.
My children are so wonderful and polite (when they aren't screaming at and hitting each other!). Both of my girls use 'please' and 'thank you' without prompting most of the time, and they are sincere when they say it. As a Mother, that makes me so happy. Now if I can only get them to understand that simply saying 'please' doesn't automatically mean they will get what they want.