A Statement, a Qualifier, a Thank You, and an Apology.

Statement:
I am not a parent. If you regularly read my blog and you're a parent, this has nothing to do with you. It is a reaction to a lot of things I've been thinking about in the last few years as I've come to terms with the idea that parenthood is (of course) closer than ever before.

Qualifier:
And I feel like I have to qualify that statement with: I'm NOT prego. I'm just a planner and a thinker. I think a lot. And talk to myself a lot. But that's for another time... eh.

Thank you:
Mom and Dad. Thank you for sometimes making me do things I really didn't want to do. Thank you for never (ok, rarely) stepping into a situation, intervening on my behalf, and making things easier on me. Thank you for making me do things that just plain sucked from my point of view but you knew were good for me. Thank you for making me do things that were good for me even when they weren't good for you (come on, we all know daily chores help the parent as much as the kid, you can stop pretending now...). Thank you for not always giving me a choice and for occasionally telling me: "because I said so" when I demanded a reason. Thank you for realizing that I would one day be an adult, and you'd have done your job a lot better if you actually prepared me to handle it.
In short, thank you for not protecting me all the time. For giving me a safe, stable, and supportive environment in which to make mistakes and learn the hard way. Because now, there is no going back. I wouldn't give up a single tough moment for the sake of less understanding, less knowledge, or less experience. Thank you.

Apology:
Mom and Dad, I'm sorry for not figuring it out like 10 years ago. :)