The Quackers

Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.  “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise:  If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”   ^{(Ephesians 6:1-3 NLT)}

I can't remember when exactly but at some point Jay dubbed my father the "Quackdaddy."  My dad likes to duck and goose hunt and his CB handle was "Quacker" from way back when (CB's were like cellphones).  Then came the "Quackmama" for my mother.  And no, she's not into duck or goose hunting and her seebee handle was "Maggie B" (for whatever reason).  But it stuck...my parents are the Quackers. 

Growing up, the Quackers were just my dumb, ignorant parents who bossed me around, made me go to church, go to bed at a certain time, be home at a certain time, do my homework, pay for things with my own money, work, respect my elders, clean my room (ugh), and I'm sure you get the point.  I must admit that I was not a perfect child...even though I may have thought I was, yeah, I'm pretty sure I probably did...especially since my parents were stupid and knew nothing. 

I hear my mom make comments now and realize, yikes, I must have been pretty difficult to get along with here and there (and everywhere).  I'm understanding all those things, now that I'm a parent of a pre-teen daughter, that my mom and dad tried to tell me.  Isn't it true that some things you just don't get until you're older or have your own children?  This is definitely one of them.

Probably one of the most significant things I remember is that I never ever wanted to disappoint my parents.  I couldn't stand the thought of disappointing my dad.  Ugh.  If I had to admit to something I knew he would be ashamed of me for, it just made me sick to my stomach.  And my brother was near perfect, so following in his footsteps wasn't easy.  Even though I wasn't too bad, I wasn't an angel by any sense of the word...and I know I had a sassy mouth that probably made them want to slap me.  (Jay says I still do!)  Somehow, we all lived through my adolescent years. 

I now realize I had great parents.  They have their quirks, those Quackers, but all in all, I'm very fortunate.  They extended mercy and grace when I didn't deserve it and they disciplined me when I did.  They were good Christian examples and I appreciate that now, especially as I'm trying to raise my own kiddos.  They are a great support system for me and my family, and I owe them so much for being there for their grandchildren whenever I need them to be.  I have some crazy funny stories about the Quackers and my childhood that I'm sure I'll share over the course of time.

As I was looking for a scripture text, I found the one above and thought, hmm, I wonder if I did well enough to have a long life here on earth...I suppose we'll just have to see.  It is kinda interesting though, that it is mentioned that way.  I'm thinking maybe we should have that framed in large bold print and hang it up in our kids' rooms.

Every day as I would head out to the school bus, and even as a teenager leaving with my brother for school, my dad would say "Smile at your teachers" with this huge goofy grin.  I remember thinking, oh my gosh, that is so dumb.  Guess what?  Every now and then, I'll say the same thing to my kids as I'm dropping them off at school...Madolyn just looks at me like I'm an idiot (go figure).