"I Don't Like You!"

As the Father of a thirteen year old daughter, these words are music to my ears! For those of you who are parents, you know alternative words that are far worse. These alternative words strike a chord of fear in the hearts of every parent. The words “I hate you!” are on the top ten list of statements you never want to hear in your life just like “We can still be friends” (maybe more on this statement in a future blog). Some of you as parents are saying, "My child would never say these words to me". If this is true, cherish these moments. Some children show their emotions openly while others…get even… I mean keep their emotions to themselves. As a child, I would never have dreamed of openly verbalizing opposition to my parents for fear of harsh retribution. Ahhh! Fear and respect – those were the good ol’ days! But I digress... Even though I didn’t outwardly express my feelings of anger and disappointment with my parents (and yes, there were many), I always new they loved me and had my best interests in mind. I held on to these thoughts even in my most difficult times. I am hopeful that my daughter also holds on to this unconditional, fundamental truth during her moments of doubt. It s almost 12:00 p.m. (noon) and she is just waking up. I hope that my taking her bedroom door off its hinges from her slamming it last night doesn’t elevate her to using the “H” word. Uh-oh… I hear her calling me now… !!!DAD!!!