What do you/did you admire about your parents?

Bretrick

Bretrick

Well-known Member
Location
Perth Western Australia
My Father was a brilliant man who would go out of his way to help people get through the troubles of life.
He would go in to bat for them when bureaucracy would try to bring them down.
Always fighting for the working man. Always taking it up to the bosses who tried to stifle the work force.
He was a great Union man who fought for the rights of blue collar workers.
He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal, OAM, from the Queen for services to Trade Unionism and the community over a 50 year period
 

My mother was talented, her parents sent her to finishing school(IIRC)where she was taught to play the piano, well enough to have become a concert pianist. She also played the recorder(self taught) and was fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Russian. In later years she was a computer programmer, worked at several aerospace companies(Douglas, Lockheed,TRW).

My father majored in physics in collage, worked in the Library of Congress, and was employed by the State Department as a junior diplomat(vice counsel) in a number of U.S. missions(embassies and consulates) abroad: England, Brazil,Cuba,Mexico.
 
Given the financial hardships that my family faced early in my childhood (my father became disabled), my mother worked hard in not only keeping the family together, but instilling traditions, like cooking good meals and going to church, and always challenging us to do better. She was generous to a fault, and would give the clothes from her back to help others. I can go on and on, but I have loved both parents very much. :)
 
My parents (RIP) were both good people who loved and took care of us kids and our needs. We did not have a lot of money, I grew up in a 4 room apartment with my parents and 3 siblings. I was a surprise, late in life baby, so had a lot of hand me downs and never complained, was actually happy to get some. My father was the one who worked, and my mom was a housewife and took care of us, was an excellent cook and made the best of the money she had to work with. I miss them both, and feel blessed to have had them for parents.
 
They always dressed with class. My Mother was always the prettiest lady around and my Father always appeared so dignified.
They were both gentle , sweet, kind and soft-spoken.
My Dad went out of his way to always affect the day in a positive way and make life better for anyone. He was always shaking hands with strangers and incredibly personable.( always happy and joking)
My Mother was an extremely talented artist (of landscape paintings and murals) and an exceptional dressmaker, tailor and dress designer.
I was always so proud of them!
 
My mother? Her generosity. She would give you the shoes off her feet if you needed them. She always said that there are no pockets in shrouds, and as long as she lived she helped others with her purse and her hands. She was good humoured and taught us to be kind to animals. She lived to be 91 and everyone loved her.

My dad? He was more of a mystery. He was in uniform when I was born and I didn't begin to know him until he was demobbed when I was three. He was a quiet man, read a lot and let Mum have her head on most things. He only dug his heels in on matters of principle and then he could not be swayed. He died suddenly when I was just 25 and I regretted that we had not had any deep conversations as adults. He loved children and could be trusted to care for quite young babies. I so wish that he had lived longer to see his grandchildren grow up.
 
My mom was totally devoted to her children in many ways but of course not perfect. She loved animals, too, and at one time she had 6 dogs and 6 cats.

She had been working for a Vet and many people brought in healthy pets to be euthanized just because for some reason they didn't want them. Well, my mom talked to the Vet about such pets and took them all home to care for the rest of their lives.

She had a big heart.
 
My father was a brilliant man. He was very pragmatic and somewhat detached, but I always knew he deeply cared about me. He came from a family of 3 brothers who grew up in a boarding house. He left and went to college at 15 years old and had to continually fish his alcoholic brothers out of the "gutter". One passed away in his late 30's, the other in his late 50's. My dad lived to 78 y/o. He was determined. He changed careers to become a stockbroker in his 40's and lived in a "dorm" in NYC with others who were in their 20's. He canvassed for clients, sitting on the floor of our house and writing letters to prospective clients. He became very successful due to his determination. He was 30 years old and established in business when he met my mother, who was 20 years old.

My mother was a housewife all her life who struggled with self-esteem, bi-polar disorder and depression issues. We always said "you never know what you will get with her" and we chalked it up to her being a Gemini. However, she tried her hardest to be a good mother, always encouraging me and telling me I could do anything I set my mind to. Her best trait was that she could be very charming and engaging. I saw her charm the pants off people during her time in assisting living. The caregivers loved her.

I feel fortunate that I inherited my pragmatism, determination and work ethic from my father and my ability to interact with people from my mother.
 
My dad was the best advice giver I ever met. When I discovered this about him, it made my life a lot easier on important issues. He also firmly believed in living debt-free except for a mortgage. He was a quiet guy, but ask him anything, and he would answer, and a conversation would ensue. I thought he was a great guy. He was a good cook, and was brilliant in many, many ways. He was also a perfectionist - he called me once, upset that my sister had made all D's on her grade report from college. I misunderstood him -- he said all B's! I explained to him that it was probably because Elvis had recently died. She was crazy about Elvis. He understood that, although he didn't understand how she could be that way. Neither did I, but so what.

My mom was the best cook and penny-pincher I ever met. She lived in a popular city and wanted to sell her house. She didn't get offered enough for it, but talked to her neighbors and found out they were getting lowball offers. She found out that a developer was going to tear down the houses and put in condos. So she organized the neighbors to sell their houses together as one deal. They all got twice what they had originally been offered, thanks to her. She was also brilliant and talented in art and music.
 
win231 said:
What I admire most about my parents is that they taught me what type of person NOT to be by their example. Especially my mother, who was a raging, hating person. She had two brooms - one for sweeping & one for riding on.
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Did we have the same mother??? My mother was verbally abusive to me and my father and when she passed away, none of the outside family knew she was like that. It was definitely hard to live with. Times have changed and more is known about mental illnesses and I honestly think she was bipolar...or something...because she could be nice one minute and nasty the next.

Despite my mother's outbursts at home, she was a money-manager for sure. My dad worked for GM for 42 years and I can remember only 1 day that he did not go to work because he was sick. I was an only child (adopted when I was 3) so I didn't want for much. I can honestly say, I didn't appreciate them and the sacrifices they made for me. I put them through hell when I got older but I didn't realize what they were going through to protect me from myself and the bad choices I'd made. I wish I could turn back the clock and be a different daughter to them.
 


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