On parental relationships

It's been a while since the last post, as is the norm these days. Happy new year!


So i've been wanting to write about this for quite some time and what better time to write about it than in the middle of studying for an exam  one of many study breaks?

When we are young, we see our parents as Mummy and Daddy but as you grow older and linger into adulthood, you start to know your parents less as mommy and daddy and more as the people they are. You get to know their personalities outside of their parental roles and you get to see how they think and how they process things in the real world. Sometimes what you find can be great--you find out that your dad has this whole other side to him and whose company you really enjoy or you find that your mother is a champion in every sense of the word--and not so great--you realize that your dad has insecurities which were never obvious to you when you were young but explain a lot now that you're older or you find out that your mom is not quite the bold and fearless woman you always pictured.

For me, this has been a rather interesting journey. I would say i started getting to know my parents outside of their parental roles when i graduated college. Granted, i was still very much under the parental bubble and still saw my parents in their parental roles but getting to know them has been a gradual process. From the conversations of my mother of her University days to sharing a bottle of wine with my dad, these little bonding moments give me a window into the lives they once led before having to step into their roles as parents. On such occasions, i tend to ask myself, Would me and mom be friends when we  were young? Would me and dad? would i even like mom? dad?

I often wonder about myself as a parent to a young child as opposed to a parent to a teenager or adult. obviously, both stages in a person's life require a different level of nurture and care but i wonder if my future children will be surprised to learn about the characteristics their mother possess the way i was surprised to learn about some of my parent's personality traits.

anyway, these are some of the things that go through my mind these days.