*SIGH*

You know it's bad when you sit back, and think "Wow, I am surprised that I am still alive." I only say this, because now that I am a parent, there are times when I just don't know what to do when my kids misbehave. That also causes me to try and remember all the stuff that I did as a child, and also what I got away with that Mom and Dad never found out about. It's just odd being on this side of things now, and seeing your kids try to get away with things.

I grew up on Dad's Mantra "A parent is always right. Even when we're wrong, we're right." I resented Dad for that, and still have some hard feelings towards the way he decided to express that mantra to me. Even as I got older, instead of him letting go, and letting me find my own way in life, he decided to turn the screws even tighter to exert his will upon me. He always said that I reminded him the most of himself, and I think that freaked him out. I have fought against that for all my adult life, with Dad's bad habits and attitudes almost hard-wired into my head on a subliminal level. I remember when Rachel and I were in the Manassas Ward, and one of our friends were blessing their baby. I was asked to be in the blessing circle, and that was an honor. After sacrament meeting, the parents of the mother of the baby came up to me, and said "As long as you walk the Earth, your father will never be truly gone." I thought this was a curious thing to say out of the blue, until they told me that they knew Mom and Dad when all were younger, and from their recollection I was a pretty good copy. I don't mind it anymore, but that used to really frost me when people said those things. I've gotten over most of my hard feelings towards Dad, but there are some things I was to remember to help me do right by my family. Even in our family, each of the siblings have a different opinion on Dad because he treated us all differently. And, get this, there's nothing wrong with that. Don't ever let another person influence your memory.

So, anyway, back to my point. Parents are smart. They've been where the child has been before. All it takes is a little observation of a child, and you can recognize their patterns and their "tells" (to use a poker term.) I was almost always astounded as a child when Mom or Dad would know when I was misbehaving. I thought they were psychic. Now with Allison, and Ryleigh, I watch what they are doing and I know when they're hiding something. This skill has also been refined while Zachary and Daniel have been with us. Not to say that all children are demons, or that they need to be constantly monitored, but you just know when there is something amiss. That's when you look back and try to remember the things parents said to us to get us to fess up and admit to it. Funny how the mind works. Even funnier now that I'm on this side of the table. Maybe I'll have a grilled cheese with my little Aaron ghost I'm looking at, and let the memories glide between us.