PARENTS.

Lately, I've had a bit of parent envy. It feels like everybody else has cooler parents than me. One friend has really artsy parents. Another friend has outdoorsy parents, or athletic parents, or musical parents. And what do my parents do? Well, not a whole lot of cool stuff, it seems.

Here's what I think I've discovered. Growing up, you always look up to your parents. I mean, they take care of you, they love you, and they're always there for you. Once you become a teenager, however, you realize that your parents aren't perfect. Sometimes, they're late to pick you up- they have lives, too, you know. They can't always do everything you want them too all the time. Parents also get tired, just like we do. The other day, I got really frustrated with my Mom because she didn't want to make dinner. She was getting sick, and had had a very long day at work. It's natural to want to be lazy. I guess my point is that it's really easy to see all the flaws in your parents when you're a teenager. Everything they do wrong seems to be magnified in our minds, which still hold our parents to such high standards from childhood.

When all is said and done, I wouldn't switch my parents for the world. Sure, they're too strict at times, but that's only because they love me. My dad isn't a rockstar, but he has done some really cool things with his life. He's doing wonderful things on the Board of Trustees for Gustavus Adolfus College. He has devoted his life to philanthropy, a value he tries to teach us as well. And my mom will never be the hair stylist I want, but she is the best interior designer I know. She is amazingly talented and has had a ton of her work published in national and international magazines. She made a 4 year committment to the youth program on my church and while she is always dressed like the classy lady she is, she was not afraid to get her hands dirty on the mission trip to Mississippi. I guess I do have pretty cool and well-rounded parents, and I know they would do anything to make me happy.

They're not perfect, but nobody is.