Articles
I Loved You Enough
“I loved you enough to bug you about where you were going, with whom and what time
you would get home. I loved you enough to insist you buy a bike with your own money even
though we could afford it. I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your friend was a
creep. I loved you enough to make you return a Milky Way with a bite out of it to the drugstore
and confess, “I stole this.” I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned
your bedroom, a job that would have taken me 15 minutes. I loved you enough to say, “Yes, you
can go to Disney World on Mother’s Day.” I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, disgust and tears in my eyes. I loved you enough not to make excuses for your
lack of respect or your bad manners. I loved you enough to admit that I was wrong and ask for
your forgiveness. I loved you enough to ignore what every other mother did or said. I loved you
enough to let you stumble, fall, hurt and fail. I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your own actions at age 6, 10 or 16. I loved you enough to figure you would lie
about the party being chaperoned but forgave you for it —after discovering I was right. I loved
you enough to accept you for what you are, not what I wanted you to be. But, most of all, I loved
you enough to say no when you hated me for it. That was the hardest part of all.”
