Five Reasons Why It's Important to Hang With Your Parents.

There is this unspoken rule when becoming an adult, that in order to be considered a healthy adult, you must completely separate from your parents.  I heard it when I was approaching college graduation and I still hear it now.

The question I have is why must we remove ourselves from our parents' care and wisdom in order to become an adult?  Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in making choices / decisions and being a responsible adult, but I also don't think the absence of parents has to be done in order to mature.

This is why I think it is important to hang out with your parents.  Not only is it going to show appreciation and honor them, it will actually be great for you because your parents are the foundation to who you are.  So, we should make sure our foundation is healthy.  A happy family is a strong family.

So, here are 5 reasons why I think it is important as an adult to hang out with your parents:

1) They always give and give and give and give some more, and sometimes they need someone to pour into them.  
I am not a parent, but from what I have heard it is hard.  Many many sleepless nights.  The financial pressure of adding another mouth to feed.  No babysitter to go on date night.  They are always taking care of the kids, whether financially or emotionally.  Sometimes they need someone to treat them to something special.  Here is my challenge to you.  Take them out to the movies.  Pay for their dinner.  Buy their next coffee.  This will tell them that what they have done / do for you is noticed and appreciated.  

2) They may be older than you, but they still want to have fun too.
Time is now a precious thing.  They went to work everyday, then they took you to football practice, and your sister to choir rehearsal.  Don't forget the youth group you were a part of and the ice cream social afterwards.  Then squeeze in dinner and then it is about time to go to bed and do it all over again the next day.  Parents put their social calendar aside and put their focus on the calendar of their kids.  This just means, we as kids, need to put in that extra effort to show them they are worth the time to make sure they're having fun and enjoying life, not just going through the motions.

3) They will never stop being parents, even as you get older.  So, let them do their job and you do yours.
Just because we are getting older, doesn't mean they are going to stop being your parents.  Your dad is always going to care if your car is running well and your mom will always double check to make sure you are happy and hanging with good friends.  It comes with the territory.  So, let them be parents.  When they check in on you, let them know all is good, with details.  But go the next step further and ask them what is new in their life.  Show interest in them.  They are going through life just like you and are always learning new things.  You just may learn a thing or two about your parents.

4) They have walked through the time of life you are currently going through.
Your parents have already been where you are right now.  They will have some wisdom to share with you if you take the time to ask.  They have success stories as well as those times where they failed.  Let them teach you and share a part of their life and story with you.  This will allow them to impart their wisdom and you will get to know them beyond just being your dad and mom.

5) This will honor them and validate that even though they are human, we will always be there for them no matter what.
The people who spend time with their parents, are the people who are willing to continue to be corrected and humble.  They are people who do not think of themselves too highly to think they have it all together and no longer need instruction.  We all need those around us to cheer us on and always have our backs as well as smack us around every now and then.  Spending time with your parents will do just that.  It is exhibiting to them that even though they make mistakes, you still care and cherish what they have to say and they get to do what they love to do: be your parent.

I know not everyone has a good relationship with their parents.  Even with that said, it is never too late to make a difference and change your relationship with them.  In order to have a strong relationship, both sides must put in effort in order to see results.  I encourage you to try to put in that effort and see where it takes you.  I promise you won't regret it.

Go hug your dad and mom today.  I double dog dare you.

From Country Dancin' to Hockey Games.

Having some goals and tangible activities in the forefront of my mind keep me grounded in the train of thought there is more to life than going to work and coming home and then doing it all again the next day.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to work hard and to bring your absolute best everyday to the job, even when exhaustion and frustration hits.  I believe my generation needs to know what it looks like to do whatever it takes in order to survive, myself included.

But it is also just as important to remember we are not robots.  We are not beings that were made to slave the day away.  Hence, country dancing and hockey games.

I had some amazing friends come visit from California and I wanted them to experience Texas.  And I mean truly experience Texas.  So, one Saturday night we decided to go country dancing.  In a the middle of nowhere Texas.  And boy did we dance.

And we loved it.

It was something that I have never done before and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.  If you know me, I usually always turn down any sort of dancing.  One, because I don't know how and two, I feel silly doing it.  But I think we all need to push ourselves outside of our norm and just go for it.  It is exhilarating and embarrassing and fantastically fun.

There just isn't anything like getting together in a group of people where everyone is gathered for a common goal.  Dancing.  Twirling.  Laughing.  Yelling.  Cheering.

It is wonderful.

Going to a hockey game with my younger sister was really an experience all in itself.  It is fast paced and always unpredictable.  When a player scores, everyone just stands and cheers and you can't help but join.  You get excited when they do.  You get mad when they do.  It is what is exciting about hockey and any other sport really.

Camaraderie is made both on the field and off.  As I sat there for just a moment, even just for a few minutes, everyone was on the same team.  No one was there judging one another.  No one was there telling the other person they are not good enough for this reason or that.  No one is there for any other reason than to be one big team.

I wish life was more like that.  One big team.  But we sit and we compare ourselves with one another and the hierarchy system is then put into place.  And yet we are all striving for acceptance and community.  There is rarely a sense of true community.

I am thankful that I am purposely putting myself in places where I normally don't tread.  It is constantly teaching me new things and I am reminded there is too much beauty in the world being taken for granted.

I ask that you go out of your comfort zone and try new things.  Tread into those adventures you always dreamed of going into.

Who knows.  You just might surprise yourself.