Blogtoberfest day 30 - Thankful Thursday

Parents. We all have them in some sort of capacity whether you are lucky enough to still have them or have contact with them or not - we're not quite at the stage yet of cloning humans! Here are mine at their wedding 40 years ago.

Now I was quite old before I realised not everyone gets the same gig with parents. I was 20 when my then-boyfriend asked whose favourite I was. At my puzzled look he elaborated that he was his Mum's favourite and his sister was his Dad's. I was mildly horrified and stumbled over my "my parents don't have favourites!" reply and put it down to his family being a bit odd.  Of course, as a not-so-naive 40 year old I now know that, indeed, some parents DO have favourite children. And - even worse - some don't hide the fact!

I am constantly shocked by other people's families. We have a few things going on just now within my larger family. A wedding, a significant birthday, serious illness. And I have friends and colleagues going through a lot of the same things. What always stuns me is how unsupportive and downright selfish some people are to the people who should matter most and what a difference it makes when people DO have a thought outside of themselves. I'm particularly thinking of my uncle (my mum's brother) currently sharing the burden of Wee Granny's palliative radiotherapy with my Mum. She often says how lucky she is to have him.

But those familial bonds obviously don't magically appear or spring forth fully formed. They are like little saplings that need watering and nurturing to do more than just not die - duty will get you so far but it's a bit like existing and not living. And MY parents are awesome gardeners. Our saplings (my brother's and mine) are now a mature silver birch and rowan and we've added to our little wood with a beech, a willow and a wee holly tree. *g*

Mum and Dad being very glam at bro and sis-in-law's wedding in 2006.

So today I am thankful for winning the parental lottery. It really is pure luck who you are born to and my folks really mean it when they say we are the most important thing to them. So thanks to the universe and my Mum and Dad for being marvellous. Although lets get some more photos taken, eh? I have almost none of you both!