I Love You Enough

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. -Author Unknown