I know my father had a tough childhood. How he managed to come out of such a bad home life with a great sense of humor, I'll never know. Most of my own childhood was spent in wary confusion; Dad definitely had his own set of personal demons who surfaced at unexpected times.
And because of his family history, photos taken of Dad when he was very young make me want to reach back through time and give him a hug and tell him it will be all right. From a child's viewpoint, it's not possible to think of your parents as once being young; parents are just...old.
Getting older myself, I look at pictures taken of my parents as children and it is a curious emotion - a tenderness, a maternal instinctual feeling arises, and it is almost as if they were my children instead of the other way around.
Curious.
4 comments:
I know those confusing feelings when looking at photos of parents when they were kids. My dad didn't have much of a childhood to write home about either, and like your dad, had his particular demons. I've wished I'd been more "parental" with him when I got older and before he died.
He was a cute looking little guy. Makes you want to just give him a big hug.
You have put into words what many of us feel toward our parents--living or dead. It gives me a pang to think what my folks did--especially for us unappreciative kids. How in the world did they cope with the necessity to provide for us when they were so ill equipped? They were amazing! Unfortunately, it would have been impossible for me to convey the depth of my feelings while they were living. It is so sad. I sometimes wonder if our own kids will have the same sort of thoughts. This is hard to imagine because Hunky Husband and I had it so much easier than our parents did.
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I don't know how I missed this before when I was here; because this photo of your dad is adorable. You so well stated how I think many of us feel.
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