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I Loved You Enough

                 Some day 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.

Taken from a Dear Abby newspaper column. Date unknown.