Mean Moms

      Someday when my children are old

     enough to understand the logic that

     motivates a parent, I will tell them:

     I loved you enough... to ask

     where you were going, with whom, and

     what time you would be home.

     I loved you enough... to insist

     that you save your money and buy a

     bike for yourself even though we could

     afford to buy one for you.

     I loved you enough... to be

     silent and let you discover that your

     new best friend was a creep.

     I loved you enough... to make

     you go pay for the bubble gum you had

     taken and tell the clerk, "I stole this

     yesterday and want to pay for it."

     I loved you enough... to stand

     over you for two hours while you

     cleaned your room, a job that should have

     taken 15 minutes.

     I loved you enough... to let you

     see anger, disappointment and tears

     in my eyes. Children must learn that

     their parents aren't perfect.

     I loved you enough... to let you

     assume the responsibility for your

     actions even when the penalties were so

     harsh they almost broke my heart.

     But most of all, I loved you

     enough... to say NO when I knew you

     would hate me for it.

     Those were the most difficult

     battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in

     the end you won, too.

     And someday when your children

     are old enough to understand the logic

     that motivates parents, you will tell

     them.............

     My Mom was mean. We had the meanest mother in

     the whole world! While other kids ate

     candy for breakfast, we had to have

     cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had

     a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we

     had to eat sandwiches. And you can

     guess our mother fixed us a dinner that

     was different from what other kids had, too.

     Mother insisted on knowing

     where we were at all times. You'd think

     we were convicts in a prison. She

     had to know who our friends were, and

     what we were doing with them. She

     insisted that if we said we would be gone

     for an hour, we would be gone for an

     hour or less. We were ashamed to admit

     it, but she had the nerve to break the

     Child Labor Laws by making us work. We

     had to wash the dishes, make the beds,

     learn to cook, vacuum the floor,

     do laundry, empty the trash and all

     sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would

     lie awake at night thinking of more

     things for us to do.

     She always insisted on us telling

     the truth the whole truth, and

     nothing but the truth. By the time we were

     teenagers, she could read our minds.

     Then, life was really tough! Mother

     wouldn't let our friends just honk the

     horn when they drove up. They had to

     come up to the door so she could meet them.

     While everyone else could date

     when they were 12 or 13, we had to

     wait until we were 16.

     Now that we have left home, we

     are all educated, honest adults. We

     are doing our best to be mean parents just

     like Mom was.

     I think that is what's wrong with

     the world today. It just doesn't

     have enough mean moms……