For many of us, nearly every significant memory in our life has had something to do with our parents.
However, it’s important to take notice of the roles they played in the moments of our life that seem so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
We forget about the little things they did for us like take us to a pumpkin patch each autumn, go to all of our little league games, make brownies for the bake sale at school we forgot to mention until the night before and just generally being our No. 1 cheerleaders.
In return, it’s only fair that we do little things for them.
The second a parent leaves their child at college for the first time to fend for themselves, they also let go of some roles they played in their child’s life.
They become aware they no longer are a part of so many of the decisions we make on a day-to-day basis.
Take my parents for instance: I am my parents’ fourth and final child, and they always say sending me off to college was no easier for them than it was with my oldest sibling.
It’s not exactly easy to let go for us either, though.
The newly found freedom is almost confusing.
I’ll never forget sitting in my dorm freshman year alone for the first time, and I wanted to get a cup of coffee.
I must have sat around for 10 minutes trying to figure out who to tell before I realized I didn’t need to tell anyone or ask for permission to do anything.
While this concept was foreign to me, you get used to this feeling quickly.
Being able to take care of yourself and call all the shots in your life is liberating, but in those first few months it’s so easy to forget about checking in with your parents, who probably just want to know you’re not in a ditch off the side of the highway.
That’s when I realized how important it is to do little things for my parents to let them know all of the little things they did for me growing up never went unnoticed.
I started calling home more, sending daily texts just to check in and occasionally sent my Dad emails to his office during the day to say hi.
I can’t even tell you how much it means to my mom when I send photos.
It didn’t make sense to me at first, but I realize now how much she appreciates being able to get a glimpse into the life I live nine months out of the year that she only gets to experience a couple times a year when she visits.
While we are living a whole separate life from our parents, we often forget just how much they’ve done. But it’s only fair in return that we let them know they are not forgotten, but appreciated.
A simple “I miss you” text can be the pick-me-up they need on a particularly hard day and can be more memorable to them than you can ever comprehend.Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
