Parents As Heroes

Last week, newspapers around the country ran an article on the results of a survey conducted by The Associated Press and MTV that asked young people to name their heroes. The AP and MTV reported 29 percent of those surveyed chose their mothers, 21 percent named their fathers and 16 percent picked their parents without specifying which one. That totals 66 percent, representing quite an impressive showing by parents.

Based on the relationship I, apparently incorrectly, assumed that I had with my children, I would not have predicted such a good showing. Could there be more going on between my children and me than I suspected? It's exciting to think that the teenage morning grunts and the abbreviated answers given during dinner might actually be meaningful expressions of respect and awe.

Maybe this is life's reward for remaining constant to my role as a parent and not yielding to my young adult's whims and passions. Perhaps, my children do respect me for holding the line with them, enduring their rapidly shifting moods, abbreviated communiques and often aggravating ways of telling me what they are feeling.

In the survey, one young woman from New Bern, N.C. chose her parents as her heroes because, "They're really hard workers, and they've done everything in their power to make sure my siblings and I have everything we've needed. They're just good people."

Is it possible that our teenagers will emerge from their self-absorbed cocoons appreciating all that we do for them? If so, I now feel much better.

In fact, that's a good enough reason to celebrate tonight at dinner and have hamburgers, my son's favorite food, for the third time in a row. I'll even "hold the greens."