Tag Archives: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Day I Learned Parents Are Real People Too

“There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, She was very good indeed, But when she was bad she was horrid.”

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Today’s story is contributed by Elizabeth Parsons.

For a time, I was the kid you prayed you didn’t get. Hard-headed. Smart-mouthed. Opinionated. Disobedient.

sister and brother

Liz (behaving for once) with her little brother Daniel

Dad? Arch enemy #1 (probably because we are so alike).

What did we fight about? Everything. Bedtime. Friends. TV shows. Madonna. (I worshipped her; Dad was not impressed).

My mission in life: to prove Dad wrong; to show I was right.

Where did I get this obstinate streak? Probably from my lawyer Dad. When he was a kid, he was a handful, too. When he didn’t get his way, he’d hold his breath until he fainted — at least I didn’t do that. READ MORE