What is it about parents wanting to seem perfect in the eyes of their children? All we children want is to feel understood and comfortable, not uneasy with the thought of falling beneath the bar our parents have – possibly – unintentionally set for us. Even though we all know no one can be perfect, there is still the question of how far from that mark our parents actually are. They hide the answer from us. At least, my parents hide the answer from me.
Using all of the fragments of childhood stories I have collected from my parents, I still can’t imagine what a regular day for them would have been. What they did with their friends. The trouble they got into. Their teenage insecurities. Is it wrong to want to find answers to my own questions through their answers? The problem is that I don’t know their answers; I don’t even know the questions they had.
Every time I mess up, I can’t help but feel like my parents never made that mistake. How could they relate to me if they are perfect, and I obviously am not? So, like father like daughter, I’ll hide my questions. Like mother like daughter, I’ll hide my mistakes. Until I get to know you.