Had a long family meeting last night, where we discussed a broad range of topics-- from why my brother shouldn't quit his job and handle the family business, to what my youngest brother should do after graduation, to what I'm doing now and what I wanna be doing in a few years time. Throughout the discussion, whose mood went from serious to light to funny then back to serious, I caught a glimpse of the inner motivations of parents and was awestruck by a huge "consumer insight" about my folks.
Truly, parents only want the best for this children, and "best" here often means getting opportunities they themselves didn't get when they were younger... And, more importantly, turning out even better, even bigger (not literally, I hope, esp in the case of my brother Kendrick, haha!) than them.
They don't want their children to exactly follow in their footsteps, but instead leverage on what they've started and be an even bigger success, to be an even happier, even more fulfilled persons. It's all about bridging the potential with the actual-- armed with the opportunities and the facilities that they've made available to us, they want to ensure we fill out our absolute potential and be the best version of ourselves we can be.
I just think it was so endearing, and as I mentioned in an earlier entry, I'm grateful to see that my parents have taken a shift in their treatment of us kids-- from mere children who know nothing of the world to young adults who are capable to making decisions but prefer to make them in conjunction with (or under consultation with) our parents. I think last night, they were even more grateful to see the premium we place on what they think or recommend. They've seen more than one example of their friends' children totally bypassing mom and dad and going ahead and making life-altering decisions without their knowledge nor consent. I think, above all, they were happy that we were good kids. No matter how else we turn out (professionally, socially, intellectually, etc), being good kids is definitely a good start.
OK. Enough tooting the Co horn. Just want to say that-- I love my folks and I love my family! :)
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