I often say I\u2019m a Type A parent\u2014structured, focused, goal-oriented. But I come by it honestly. My mother was the same. She was a high-achieving, emotionally intelligent woman who expected nothing but our best. She shaped me into who I am today. And I, in turn, passed on those values to my children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My husband and I were the classic \u201ctennis parents\u201d and \u201cdance parents.\u201d We invested our time, energy, and finances into shaping our kids\u2014not just to win medals or ace performances, but to give them skills for life. We believed dance and tennis could be more than just extracurriculars. They could be secondary incomes, lifelong hobbies, forms of fitness, or simply a source of joy. We wanted to equip them to be strong, expressive individuals\u2014able to lead, perform, coach, and contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, life happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Academics took over. Career goals became priority. Dance and tennis faded from the calendar. And if I\u2019m honest, I was deeply disappointed. I missed the rhythm of rehearsals and tournaments. But more than that, I feared the passions we nurtured had been left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then, this weekend happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My daughter returned home to perform Indian classical dance at her alma mater\u2019s Golden Jubilee celebration. My son came down for the weekend\u2014just to be there, to cheer his sister on. That alone filled my heart. But then he said something unexpected: \u201cI\u2019ve decided to start coaching pickleball at my friend\u2019s club.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s when it hit me: nothing is ever really lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They may have taken a break, but the values, the training, the love for the game and the art\u2014it stayed. And now, in their own way and time, they\u2019re circling back to it. Not because we pushed. But because it became part of who they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a parent, you never know what will stick. You hope. You try. You sometimes worry you pushed too hard\u2014or didn\u2019t push enough. But when your child, now a young adult, takes something you planted years ago and makes it their own\u2026 that\u2019s when you know you did okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can\u2019t control the outcomes, but we can create the environment. That\u2019s what my mother did for me. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve tried to do for mine. Whether they dance on stage or coach on a court\u2014it\u2019s not about the spotlight. It\u2019s about watching them step into their own light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I often say I\u2019m a Type A parent\u2014structured, focused, goal-oriented. But I come by it honestly. My mother was the same. She was a high-achieving, emotionally intelligent woman who expected nothing but our best. She shaped me into who I am today. And I, in turn, passed on those values to my children. My husband […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":589,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions\/589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proteanmed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}