What are you going to do when your parents aren't around anymore?-1998

When we are faced with this question, we usually push it aside with "Don't worry about it," or "They aren't going to die," or "They are still healthy." The real reason we come out with replies like that isn't because we truly believe it, but it's because we're scared to face the reality that one day our parents aren't going to be there anymore. We already know that everything/everyone must physically die sometime; but since we've never really thought about a life without our parents, we picture them there until the day we die. Unfortunately, they do die and we aren't prepared for it emotionally. You see, I made that same mistake before losing my mother and emotionally I really wasn't prepared, which comes down to the reason for me writing this.

I want you to work up the nerve to face their not being in your life anymore and prepare for it emotionally before it happens. What is good to do is to sit down with your parents and have them tell you all about their past experiences, (schools they attended, games they played, etc...) and encourage them to take alot of pictures to help you keep them alive in your mind and heart. I know that you are probably thinking, "Who the hell does he think he is, telling us how to do it right when he didn't even do it right?" But that is exactly why I am telling you this. Because we learn from our mistakes and believe me, I made a big mistake.

Instead of sitting down and talking to my mother more, I went out to play around with my friends and hang out on the corner trying to look "fly" so I could attract girls. Now I am sitting here stressed out because I hardly knew anything at all about my mother's past. I don't even have those same friends, or any of those girls I attracted on the corner.

I'm telling you all this because I want you to have the memories of your parents, (those, which I don't have of my mother) once they do pass away. Also, so that when someone asks you, "What are you going to do when your parents aren't around anymore?" you can be able to honestly say: "They will always be around through all the memories that I have of them!"