"LOVED ENOUGH"
          Someday when my children are old enough
            to understand the logic that motivates
            a parent, I will tell them:

            I loved you enough...
            to ask where you were going, with whom,
            and what time you would be home.

            I loved you enough...
            to insist that you save your money
            and buy a bike for yourself even
            though we could afford to buy one for you.

            I loved you enough...
            to be silent and let you discover
            that your new best friend was a creep.

            I loved you enough...
            to make you take a Milky Way back to
            the drugstore (with a bite out of it)
            and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday
            and want to pay for it."

            I loved you enough...
            to stand over you for two hours
            while you cleaned your room,
            a job that would have taken 15 minutes.

            I loved you enough...
            to let you see anger, disappointment
            and tears in my eyes.
            Children must learn that their
            parents aren't perfect.

            I loved you enough...
            to let you assume the responsibility
            for your actions even when the penalties
            were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
            But most of all,

            I loved you enough...
            to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
            Those were the most difficult battles of all.
            I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.

            I loved you enough...
            To let you hate me.
UNKNOWN AUTHOR
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