Fathers and Mothers.

Parent. That word is a tough one. Dictionary definitions, though I have checked plenty of them, simply do not seem to fit it.

A parent is more than just the person who birthed you, adopted you, or fostered you. They are more than the person who provided you with a place to live as a child or who was responsible for you and your screw ups.  They're not the person who signs your progress reports. (Ask my cousin, I used to do that for him so that my mom and dad, who he lived with, wouldn't see the grades he really got!)
A parent is so much more than obligatory things. A parent goes more than just one step past those things. They take leaps and strides to be there for their children. Not to spoil them, but to be a shoulder for them to cry on, arms to hold them up when they are weak, a hand to help them when they fall.
My situation is not an ideal one. Not by far. When I was 18, I was in school, had a job, and saved money to get a car. When I was in school full time, I didn't work, when I was on breaks, I worked. I never was without income or without a car a day since turning 18 until I was forced to quit both school and work to have surgery. Surgery was a life or death necessity for me. My parents knew this, and took me back into their home and helped me during surgery and during recuperation. They did not pay my bills for me, but they gave me somewhere to stay, food to eat, and love and care I needed during a life-altering moment in my life.
After surgery, I tried to get back into school only to find out the school had decided me almost dying wasn't a good enough reason to drop the semester, and so to go back to school I'd have to pay them for the remainder of the semester. I didn't see how I'd ever save the money to go back. Income tax time came around, and my parents put me in the car with them and drove me to my school and wrote a check to pay off my debt. I re-enrolled and picked up where I had left off. I was so thankful for their sacrifice and that they would give up so much for me.
Now, as I feel my life has been reset, I see myself again as the 20 year old girl. Scared because life has been turned upside down, and though I am not dying, I feel like I am drowning. For the first time since being 18, I have no car for myself. I lost it because of a selfish decision by my ex husband. I have no job. Diligently looking and applying since February of this year has gotten me nowhere. I have no health insurance. I have bills coming in, and no way to pay them because the same selfish ex has decided to break court order and not repay me for the bills he ran up or for the car I gave away so that he could let our new one be repossessed.
And again, in the toughest time in my life, I have my parents. I have the people who provide me with anything they can. The people who, if they had the nickels and dimes to get me a car, would have. The people, who if they could pay off the bills I have so that I could stop crying, stop feeling sick to my stomach over each day that passes and draws closer to a due date on a bill, would do so in a heartbeat. Not to spoil me. Not because they want something easy for me. But because they love me. Because they care and they see the struggle, they see me each day and know what I do and what I struggle with. They know everything that has happened, that happens each day, and they know me better than anyone else.
I have wonderful parents. They have been here for me through thick and thin, and they continue to support me through everything. They bend over backwards for me and love me and do all they can for me. They have proven time and time again, they would give up for themselves to help me because I am their child.
That is why they are my parents.
That is what makes a parents.
Selfless, unending, undeniable love. Charity. Grace. Forgiveness.
I am thankful for my mom and dad.