Just A Phone Call Away - Appreciating & Updating Our Parents

So apparently, my parents found my blog. Wonderful. I discovered this gem a couple of weeks ago when, chatting with my parents on Skype, I eagerly began to tell them about the Asian grocery store I discovered at the corner of Princess and Barrie. Right in the middle of my story, my Dad waved his hand in dismissal and told me to tell him another story. Bored, he added that he already knew about the Asian Grocery Store. And that clearly, I wouldn't be suffering from a lack of the essentials. Shocked, I asked him how he knew. Apparently, my parents found my blog post on First Impressions of Kingston when Google searching certain spots in the city. I'm shocked. I didn't even know my parents knew what Google was.

And yet I'm actually quite glad my parents found my blog. I've been so incredibly busy lately that I have been guilty of missing parental Skype dates and phone call updates. Friends, I'm guilty. Ever so guilty.

There's a common conception that, once you hit your 20's, you don't "need" your parents anymore. You don't need their help, their advice. You don't need to tell them about your daily routines and activities. While I do realize that we're all grown-up, full-fledged adults with busy lives, I think it's important to remember that our parents may still want to play a role in our lives. We aren't kids anymore, so what role can they play?

While your friends want updates on your life, your parents do too. Often, we're guilty of taking days, even weeks before giving our parents a call to say hello. Friends, I'm guilty of being so wrapped up in my university bubble that I've often failed to update my parents on the goings-on of my life in Kingston. We're busy, we don't necessarily think about calling home. However, we may not think about it, but our parents do often wonder what we're doing, what we're eating, how we're doing, who we're meeting, whether we're thinking about them or not. We're busy with our own priorities, but our parents' will always have us as their priority - whether we live at home or miles away.

Friends, even in the midst of our busy lives, let's not forget our mothers and fathers who cannot wait to see us the next time we decide to come home. Let's update our parents more often, let's call just to say hello. Our parents think of us everyday and perhaps even worry about how we're doing. Appreciating our parents' concerns, knowing that they truly and dearly miss us should remind us to keep in touch with them, despite how busy we may be. Our parents won't be around forever. Let's keep them close to us while they are.

“A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend.”

“The joys of parents are secret, and so are their griefs and fears: they cannot utter the one, nor will they utter the other”
- Francis Bacon, Sr.