Adapted from: Vicki's Home
by Erma Bombeck

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.