Our Parents: Truly Seeing Them For The Heroes They Are

Posted: May 29, 2015

Our parents, Our heroes: Parents are often the closest ones thing we have to heroes. It just takes us time to realise that.

Nestled in the mountains of Old Manali, a quaint inn, where I sit by myself and enjoy a brunch consisting of a Caesar’s salad and waffles with maple syrup (the ultimate indulgence). As I wipe the syrup off my chin, I can’t help but wonder; this journey that I undertook would not have been possible without the support of my parents.

As a young single woman in her late 20’s travelling to offbeat destinations every few weeks, attempting to live out her dream as a writer; none of this would have ever materialized if it wasn’t for the faith and understanding my parents harbor in my choices. Of course they worry about my safety and people I travel with or those I may befriend on such journeys but they believe that encouraging me to be who I am is more important than meeting stereotypical assumptions for my gender or society’s judgement calls. Rather, they trust in my judgement.

Keeping their thoughts and emotions in mind, I ensure that I always travel responsibly and keep in touch with them, at the very least once a day to let them know that I am happy and thriving in the new surroundings. Where does a sense of independence and confidence develop in children and continues to sustain well into adult years? The answer lies in the parenting. A child develops a sense of his/her own personality by picking up on the cues and messages conveyed by the parents.

We have heard since time immemorial that a mother’s love is unconditional. Let us include the father’s love in this statement too, shall we? For those blessed with the emotional and physical presence of their parents, (myself included), constantly bask in their good fortune.

When the friendships we feel are the anchor to our lives and relationships that seemed sacrosanct give way to cracks, we realize that it is only our family that sticks by us as promised.

As much as our teenage years are marked with identity crisis and rebellion, it is only into our mid/late 20’s that we come to realize just how integral their love is in our lives. When the friendships we feel are the anchor to our lives and relationships that seemed sacrosanct give way to cracks, we realize that it is only our family that sticks by us as promised. We soon realize that each equation we develop with another individual, beyond our family, has a 50-50 chance of survival – where 50% resides with us and 50% with the other individual. All we can do is be the best person we can be, but we cannot control the other person’s intentions (as much as we may wish to). It is only a parent’s love that is 100%.

The sense of security that stems from knowing that two people in the world would never walk out on me is overwhelming. All the times we have tried their patience, hurt or disappointed as they may have been due to our actions – it did not reduce their love towards us. They give freely expecting nothing in return and sadly, at times that’s what they receive – nothing. But their love is so profound that their hurt never dims their spirits.

It’s over the last few years that my parents ceased to be just ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’; rather they are two individuals with strong personalities and a unique set of strengths and weaknesses specific to each.

It’s over the last few years that my parents ceased to be just ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’; rather they are two individuals with strong personalities and a unique set of strengths and weaknesses specific to each. I reside with my parents and have been blessed to continue to do so. It now feels that the three inhabitants of our home are friends more than just parents and child. One has come to comprehend and appreciate the sacrifices they made to ensure a happy childhood without letting us kids be aware of the hardships they ensured, obstacles that came their way and the times when their self-confidence wavered and they broke down. But they got back up every single time. And all of this, without even letting us detect that they fell in the first place.

It is our parents who sow the seeds to help us learn and grow. I hope for parents everywhere to instill in their children, both for boys and girls – courage not fear, confidence not shyness, dreams not doubts.

As for the children – we don’t necessarily have to be a parent to understand this sort of unconditional love. We just need to open our eyes and accept who our parents are, to see them for their true worth, to empathize and understand their emotions and know they are heroic, all the while being human.

Thank you, Mom and Dad.