Parent Reflection-

If you follow my posts regularly, you know that my father passed from death unto life last Saturday morning. Having lost my Mother at a young age, and now having lost my father, reflection on their parenting is so vivid in my mind.

Our family began in South Carolina where my father met my mother at a Baptist Association meeting. Being a funny boy, he escorted her to the front row as a joke and later sat by her. They began a courtship and after his time in the United States Army they married in Jacksonville, Florida.

From there they had 3 children, Kathryn, Patrick and myself. My Mother was a stay-at-home mom and my Father worked on a Naval base in Jacksonville, Florida in a civil service job.

We were by no means wealthy but with hard work and consistent care for finances including my mother shopping at the local bent can store, my parents built their own house and paid cash along the way securing a 10 acre plot of land. We never wanted for a thing. While I did not ride on a new bicycle, I rode a live horse and played with chickens and cows in the backyard. We had something of a mini-farm. My memories are sweet and good.

If I could tell 5 things my parents did right, I would confirm that my parents:

1. Loved us unconditionally

2. Provided for our every need

3. Lived out their faith by truly living out the Gospel of Christ and taking us to Church regularly.

4. Taught and expected something of us

5. Sent us all to college

Our parents really lived out their love for us. They did not just talk of love. They “acted on it” and as a result, our family was a united front. Good memories.