A Promise Kept

Families With a Missing Piece by Jeffrey Saslow in The Wall Street Journal is about people who lost one or both parents as a child. The story reminded me of a comment by my mother. When I was a child, my mom promised she would raise us until we were old enough to be on our own. My mom and dad did better than that. I was lucky, our mom is still with us into my fifties and my dad lived until my late forties, much longer than needed for us to be on our own. My spouse is also fortunate that her parents are have made it into her forties.

I attribute a part of my achievements and successes to my parents being present through most of my adult life. They were always there to help me through the difficult elements. However, I didn't fully appreciate my mom's comment until we had our daughter. Now one of my goals is to live long enough for our daughter to become an adult. I want to be around long enough to help her get the education, learn the skills and develop the self confidence needed to be self sufficient, happy and successful in life.

Hopefully, as my mom did, it is a promise I will be able to keep.

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This is not financial or parenting advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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