I Loved You Enough
Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a mother and father I will tell them:
I loved you enough to ask you about where you were going, with whom, and what time you would get home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your hand-picked friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you return the "Milky Way" with the bite out of it to a drugstore and to confess, "I stole this."
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that would have taken me 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, disgust, and tears in my eyes.
I loved you enough to admit I was wrong and ask for your forgiveness.
I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall, and get hurt.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions at 6, 10, and 16.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say "no" when you hated me for it.
That was the hardest part of all.
