EDIT: Those of you who read this, just know that my Dad doesn't like that he did those things when he was younger. So, if you run into my Dad and talk to him, please just don't mention it. I would hate for people to make him feel bad because of me.
I was watching an episode of Monk with my Mom this morning. Monk was in a bar, and a con man bet him that he could tell Monk where he got his shoes. Monk, of course, feels confident that the con man cannot tell him this. During this whole scene, my Mom was saying, "He's going to say, 'you got your shoes on your feet in this bar' and take Monk's money." Sure enough, that's exactly what he said.
I must have had a curious, confused look on my face, because my Mom said, "I know that because when your Dad and I were in New Orleans that same thing happened to your Dad."
Laughing, I said, "Dad was an idiot."
My Mom smiled and said, "We were in a bar and he was drunk."
"Oh," I said, "That's okay then. That redeems him of it."
Most of my friends come from LDS families that have been strong in the church for generations. Me, I'm a little different. My parents were both baptized into the church at age eight, but my Mom wasn't raised in the church, and my Dad didn't stay active in the church after high school. They didn't come back into the church until I was about three years old. That's why being part of my family has been both a blessing and a curse. I was raised to accept everyone and not discriminate because of someone's past, but I was not well accepted by my ward (my whole family wasn't) and often treated poorly by my LDS peers because my Mom had not been raised LDS. Actually, most people respect my Dad because he was born and raised here in Plain City, has a lot of friends here, and is now strong in the gospel. For some reason my Mom hasn't been awarded that same respect.
Anyways, my point wasn't to rant about the people here, but to explain that I feel that many people are missing out on great stories because they haven't accepted my Mom for who she is. I know what to do and not to do because of my parents and their fun stories. Sure, they weren't always active in the church, but some of their best memories were from that time period. I wouldn't trade my parents for the world. Who else is going to tell me stories about the funny things that happened when they got drunk?
It makes me really sad that people judge your family because they weren't always active. My husband is convert to the church. His mom was not a member and his dad is inactive, so he was not raised in it. His mom is a member now, along with most of his family, though his dad is still inactive. He drinks and chews and such things, but he is a great guy and I love him. I'm glad you have learned not judge people, I just wish more LDS members were like that, because they are missing out on having some really great people as friends.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me laugh so hard. I love your Dad.I bet you would probably be surprised about peoples funny drunk stories from their "wild days."
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