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Why do we feel so embarrassed when we are with our parents out on the streets? Is there something in them that makes you look bad? Do they reflect your personality? Will your friends make fun of you or your parents? Does the fact that you are with your parents make you feel like a small child, and not a teen, again?
When I was younger – 16 or 17 – I would always be reluctant when my parents wanted to bring us to eat outside at a popular restaurant just a few minutes from our place. Okay, the food is good and my parents pay for it … BUT … something just doesn’t seem right when I went out with my parents … And what was wrong was that I was with my parents.
Walking down the street, I looked to my left and right, not looking for cars but for any friends or teachers that I might happen to know. Gosh, I hoped they didn’t spot me or else I would have felt so dumb, crossing the road with my parents.
While I was crossing, my father suddenly tucked my left arm and pulled me back, holding me in a protective way. Yup, that was my father, I thought and rolled my eyes.
‘Watch out for cars! Stop day-dreaming!’, my father said.
Fine. Fine. Whatever. I was okay with him doing that…only as long as no friends were around to see us.
When we got to the restaurant, my first action was again, to scan the entire area and see if there was anyone I knew. It was like a standard reaction when I was with my parents. It just didn’t feel comfortable, with that tingling feeling that at any time, a friend would walk past and see me with my parents, having lunch.
Now that I am older, I start to realise how childish I was. But hey, that was the life of a typical mid-teen. At that time, friends were cool, while family was not. We strive for our independence then, because our brain just functioned that way. Our family was in the way of our independence and hence, we disliked it.
But now that I am living alone, separated from my family, I realised how important family actually is. They might not be cool, but (yes there’s always a but) they were always there for us. No, I correct, they are, and always be be, there for us. As my father used to always say: ‘Blood is thicker than water’. And now, I truly believe it.
