I'm turning into my parents . . .

Catherine Nicolette;
As a child, I always thought God sent me to my Dad so that Dad could care for me.
As the years rolled by, I have begun to suspect that God sent me to my Dad to teach him how to be a Dad.
As Dad said one day, this being a father came without a training manual.
He also said he learned more about how to be a dad by the crashes he made trying to navigate the kyalami curves of teenage daughterdom (bouts of tears, recriminations and slammed doors, anyone?)  than from all the books you could buy on the subject.
Or so he said. (Eyes twinkling behind his spectacles).

Truth
Well, readers, I must confess the undeniable truth; I am turning into my parents.
The other day I caught myself giving a shrewd stare over my spectacles at a younger family member. Just like Dad used to do.
And I cannot seem to resist the tendency to end a conversation by drawing a moral from it (just like Mom always did - and sometimes still does). I remember wailing as a sixteen-year old, "Mom, I asked for some information, I didn't ask for a sermon!" At which Mom turned around and pointed out that, to her, a conversation without a moral at the end was no conversation at all.

Common good
You see? I'm turning into my parents. I used to be the one who made statements about how the world needs to change. Now I tend to look at the wonder and goodness that is so evident everywhere I go.
I used to espouse the freedom of each person, and the need for total individuality that is each person's right.
Now I speak about personal responsibility towards the community; and the fact that we sometimes need to sacrifice our personal desires in the interest of the common good.
When I heard myself saying that, I knew; the metamorphosis was complete.

Happiness
And it's marvellous. Now I know why my parents used to smile and withhold a quick retort. I know why they looked happy when serving their families and others. I know the secret of happiness.
It's rejoicing in the inestimable gift of many years in which to gain life experience on this wonderful planet of ours.
As time wears on, do you know it's quite thrilling to be growing older.
It means that I am getting nearer home. Every day older on this earth is a day nearer that glorious day meeting God in Heaven . . .