remember ur parents

Love and respect are not automatic. They have to be earned. Some parents have NOT earned the right to receive either. Too many people are still under the misguided impression that you should respect your elders, even if they're arrogant, obnoxious or just flat out rude and inconsiderate. Along the same lines, too many people still believe that respect for parents should be automatic and should never fail. It doesn't work like that. Often parents don't earn the respect they then demand from their children. I have, technically, three parents. My mother divorced my father when I was a baby and married my stepfather shortly after. I call my stepfather 'Dad', and always will, because that's what he is. I respect him probably more than any human being on earth. My mother? I respect her NOW and offer her all my love and support, but it wasn't always that way. There was a time she was a drunk, showed little to no emotion towards her children and treated me like nothing more than a glorified housemaid. I offered her no respect until she was able to fix the issues in herself. As for my biological father, he'll get no respect from me. Deadbeats who use their children as leverage only to turn around and hurt those same children beyond all repair deserve no respect. The same rule applies to parents that applies to anyone else. Offer respect until it isn't returned. Then take your respect back and save the trouble for someone who deserves it.