A Gift for Mom! 🤍

To My Parents, I Get it Now

3 Minute Read

By Zabrina Vogelsang

To My Parents, I Get it Now www.herviewfromhome.com — Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com

Dear Mom and Dad,

You always told me it would make sense when I got older, that I’d understand when I became a parent. You always said it, but I never believed it.

Well, I get it now.

Now that I am a parent, I do understand and here are all the things I never said that I should have—and here’s to hoping that one day when my children are grown up and become parents, they’ll pay it forward, too.

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for every time I misinterpreted your words and actions. For every time that I thought you didn’t want me near; I know now that wasn’t what was happening. I know now you just wanted a moment for yourself, a second to catch your breath, a minute to calm your mind and center your spirit. You weren’t pushing me away, you were pulling yourself together.

I’m sorry for every time I blamed you. For thinking that you wanted to deprive me; I know now that any time you couldn’t give me the things I wanted, it hurt you more than it ever hurt me. I know now that you spent hours examining your budget; that you worked overtime not to stay away from home, but to make sure I never missed a field trip; that you endured a guilt so powerful whenever you bought something for yourself, you almost always returned it. You weren’t depriving me of what I wanted—you were ensuring I had everything I needed.

I’m sorry for every time I compared you. For thinking you were somehow less just because you did things differently—I know now you were everything and more. I know now that you spent more time comparing yourself to others than I ever did; that you felt your flaws and fought them to the best of your ability; that you were never meant to be anyone other than you. You were never inadequate—you were always enough for us.

I love you.

For every time I didn’t listen to you because I just knew I was right, find pride in the fact that you raised such a strong-minded woman and remember I love you for that.

For every time I ignored your advice and faced the consequences, find comfort in knowing it was you who showed me how to get up, wipe off the dirt, and keep marching on and remember I love you for that.

For every time that I wanted to grow up too fast, find peace in knowing that now my childhood holds some of the most precious memories for me and has given me the outline for how I wish to raise my own kids and remember I love you for that.

Please know every sacrifice you made has left an imprint on me and, although unnoticed for too many years, now serves as a map to help me become the parent I want to be for my children.

So, here’s the most important thing I should have said to you and the one thing I hope my kids will one day say to me:

Thank you.

You may also like:

To My Mom: I Get It Now

Dear Mom, Thanks for Still Mothering Me in This Exhausting Stage of Motherhood

Dear Mom, I Still Need You

Want more stories of love, family, and faith from the heart of every home, delivered straight to you? Sign up here!

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Zabrina Vogelsang

Zabrina Vogelsang is a Work-from-Home mom who splits her time hanging out with her (best friends) beautiful twin boys and working for a software program as a Technical Writer. She is also working on starting her own event planning business (check out more here: eventseverafterllc.com). She spends her "downtime" binge watching shows on Netflix with her wonderful partner in crime and hiding out in the local library. She has a wide variety of interests which she loves writing and talking about with anyone who will listen!

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

In: Kids, Motherhood

In most homes, the marks on the wall are a simple celebration of time passing. They are pencil lines that track how many inches a child has gained since their last birthday. But in our home, those marks represent a much deeper, more complex story. When your child lives with multiple hormone deficiencies, growth is never just “natural”—it is a carefully managed medical achievement. However, as any medical mom knows, the story doesn’t end at the top of the head. It begins deep inside, with a tiny gland that isn’t sending the right signals. Having multiple hormone deficiencies is often...

Keep Reading

Helping My Son Through Bullying Is Healing Something In Me Too

In: Kids

Bedtime is when my kids tend to open up the most. The lights are low, the day is winding down, and their guard finally comes down with it. One night, my son told me he had been having a really hard time at school. Some boys had been so relentless that he left the cafeteria before finishing his breakfast, deciding it was better to go hungry than face more teasing. Because he’s such a kind boy with a big heart for others, seeing him face that kind of cruelty made my heart ache even more. It wasn’t the first time...

Keep Reading

Robotics Kids Are Building More than You Can See

In: Kids

These robotics kids are going to shape our future. I think this every time I watch an elementary, middle school, or high school competition. My thoughts go back many years to when my middle child, who was six at the time, went with my husband to the high school robotics shop. They were only stopping in briefly to pick up some engineering kits, but my child quickly became captivated by what the “big kids” were doing. He stood quietly watching until one student walked over and asked if he would like to see what they were working on. My son,...

Keep Reading

Foster Care Kids Are Worth Fighting for

In: Kids

Sometimes foster care looks like bringing a child from a hard place into your home. Sometimes it looks like sitting at a ball field with a former foster love’s mom and being her village. He’s the one who has brought me to my knees more times than my own children. He’s the one I lie awake at night thinking about. He’s the one I beg the father to protect. He’s the one who makes me want to get in the trenches over and over again. It’s our Bubba. So much of the story is not mine to tell, but the...

Keep Reading

We Aren’t Holding Her Back—We’re Giving Her More Time

In: Kids

When we decided to give our preschooler another year before kindergarten, I thought the hardest part would be explaining it to other people. I was wrong. The hardest part was the afternoon her teacher asked to talk. In that split second in the pick-up line, my heart sank. I assumed the worst. I braced myself for a conversation about behavior, about something we had somehow missed, about whether her strong personality was causing problems. Instead, it became the moment that confirmed what we already knew. We were not holding her back. We were giving her time. Our daughter is bright....

Keep Reading

A Life Lived Differently Is Not a Life Less Lived

In: Kids

My life changed on that beautiful autumn day. The thing is, nothing really happened. Not really. My life kind of went on as usual. A fly on the wall might even say it was a great day. I brought my 3-year-old son to an animal farm for a Halloween event. He was quirky as usual and a bit ornery that day. Aloof. “Come feed the baby animals,” I pleaded. No, thank you. Crowds of excited children? Absolutely not. Buckets of candy? You can keep them. My heart ached watching my beautiful, blonde-haired boy wander into a field alone, away from...

Keep Reading

Enjoy the Ride, Kid

In: Kids

Two people running up from the water at the beach

Last night I watched an episode of Shrinking. If you haven’t jumped into the series yet, it’s one of those that hits the heart hard- at least for me. The episode centered on the birth of a baby, while one of the characters grappled with the closing years of life. Spoiler alert: as the elder of the group cradled this new life in his arms, bridging generations across the hospital room, the moment of realization of how fast life goes hit like a ton of bricks. “Enjoy the ride, kid.” The final words of this episode are sitting with me,...

Keep Reading

Mommy, Will You Play With Me?

In: Kids, Motherhood

With four kids at three different schools, our days are full. Between sports practices, music lessons, clubs, rehearsals, games, meets, and playdates, it feels like we’re constantly heading somewhere. I love that my children are involved in activities, but occasionally, it’s nice to have some downtime. When I get a text or email that a practice has been canceled, it’s usually a huge relief. Last week, after-school sports were cancelled due to heavy rain. When I picked up my youngest son from school, I told him we’d be going straight home for the rest of the afternoon. He looked surprised....

Keep Reading

Could We Take a Page from the ’80s and Stop Overparenting?

In: Kids, Motherhood

I have a confession: Yesterday I let my 11-year-old play with fire. Like literally. We live in the country, there is still wet snow on the ground, and he’s done it with his dad at least 20 times. But yesterday was the fifth consecutive day of no school, and probably the twentieth consecutive day of him asking to have a small fire without dad. Part of me did it out of laziness. Part of me did it out of selfishness. And part of me did it out of nostalgia. Here’s the thing—when I was 11, I was already babysitting (like...

Keep Reading

A Big Brother Is His Little Sister’s First Friend

In: Kids

Big brother and little sister smiling at each other

He doesn’t remember the day she came home.But she has never known a world without him. From the beginning, he was there first. The first to reach for her hand. The first to explain the rules. The first to decide what was fair and what absolutely was not. He didn’t know he was being assigned a role. He just stepped into it. Big brother. She followed him everywhere. Into rooms she technically wasn’t invited into. Into games she didn’t fully understand. Into stories she insisted on hearing again and again. She wanted to do what he did, say what he...

Keep Reading

Call For Me, Little One, and I Will Always Answer

Baby

Call For Me, Little One, and I Will Always Answer

No One Warned Me About Naptime, and it's Basically the Worst

Child

To My Parents, I Get it Now

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

Helping My Son Through Bullying Is Healing Something In Me Too

Robotics Kids Are Building More than You Can See

Foster Care Kids Are Worth Fighting for

We Aren’t Holding Her Back—We’re Giving Her More Time

A Life Lived Differently Is Not a Life Less Lived

Enjoy the Ride, Kid

Mommy, Will You Play With Me?

Could We Take a Page from the ’80s and Stop Overparenting?

A Big Brother Is His Little Sister’s First Friend

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like