Your parents used to be so cool

Dear Little O and Baby H,

Your Daddy & I love this stage of life that we’re at with you girls. Lots of giggles and playing, pretending and coloring, building and sorting.

You both give me hugs and kisses when I get you out of bed every morning.

You rush to the door each night when Daddy comes home from work, sailing {and speed-crawling} into his open arms and breathlessly filling him in on the day {or flapping excitedly & talking in adorable baby babble}.

We know there will come a time and a place in your lives where your Daddy & I will stop being so cool. In fact, you’ll probably drop the “Mommy” and “Daddy” altogether, which is another post entirely.

But on that day when you decide that we are the most uncool people you’ve ever met, and how you can’t believe you’re stuck with us as parents for the rest of your lives… 

We’d like you to read this. And refer back to it as necessary.

To our {future} teenage daughters: your parents used to be so cool.

And we can prove it.

1. Jello wrestling.  

Your dad & his college roommates planned the best theme parties. {Of course, we were all 21, so it was acceptable for us to enjoy a party here and there with our friends!}.

Their crowing glory was the jello wrestling party. They made jello for days in any type of plastic container they could get their hands on. Bowls, cups, tupperware, plastic sweater bins…after all, it takes a lot of jello to fill a pool. 

I know, I know. Our coolness factor just went way up.

2. College camp-outs.

We did our fair share of camping out in the union with our friends, waiting in line for tickets to big basketball games or for the best hotel in the college-wide beginning-of-summer trip {see #4}. It was always really fun. And always really, really cold. 

3. Big occasions. 

Every once and a while, it’s fun to get dressed up and go to a sorority formal. We clean up pretty nicely, no? 

4. End-of-the-year trips.

Hundreds & hundreds of our classmates headed to Florida for a week after classes wrapped up in May. Best.time.EVER. 

5. The bar car. 

Your Uncle G had a car that we all lovingly referred to as “the bar car.” During our post-college/early-professional days {read: when we could still go out and bounce back the next day}, we’d all pile into G’s bar car and park it downtown. It wasn’t the prettiest vehicle, but it was safe and sturdy, and perfect for leaving overnight.

After having a great time out, we’d take cabs back home and draw straws the next afternoon over who had to go back downtown to pick up the bar car. Co-workers at my PR firm thought this concept was both hilarious and strangely practical. 

6. Weddings.

Friends are very, very important to us. And so when the wedding train started moving and the wedding invitations started rolling in, we made our very best effort to be at every single wedding that we could.

We toasted to 23 amazing couples in an 18-month period. And lots more outside of that time frame, of course. But 23 weddings in 18 months? That’s something to smile about. 

7. Our wedding. 

Your dad & I love to have fun. And obviously love to throw a good party {see #1}. Our wedding was no exception. And you can’t help but feel pretty cool on your wedding day. After all, there are all of these incredible people taking time out of their busy lives to celebrate you and your love. 

Plus our friends got us really awesome luggage for the honeymoon, ensuring that we’d be extra cool in Mexico. 

8. Lilly.

We started off small & fluffy with our parenting skills. We learned the ropes with Lilly for a year and a half before trying our parenting on actual human beings {aka you girls}.

Getting a dog made us instantly cooler, at least in our eyes. And it helped us fit into our new neighborhood when we moved, since it seemed like everyone either had kids or a dog. 

9. Travel.

We love to travel. 

This will only benefit you girls as you get older & we can explore more of the world with you. Your dad will encourage you to study abroad. I’ll stop sleeping for six months straight while you experience another beautiful language and culture, and gain a little independence to boot.

It’s a really big world full of lots of incredible places to visit. Amazing people to learn from. It’s also a scary world, so you need to be smart and safe. We’ll help you with that. See? So cool.

10. You

Quite simply, the coolest thing we’ve ever done is decide to become parents. You girls shine so brightly that it’s hard to remember a time when you weren’t illuminating our lives.

We love you with all of our hearts and we will always love you. Always. 

So years & years from now, when you’re in high school or college and wondering how on earth your parents are so uncool…remember that coolness is in the eye of the beholder.

And feel free to re-read this post and marvel at how cool we actually were. And still are.

Counting My Kisses: This post was a blast to put together~ such a fun trip down memory lane! Did you used to be so cool {like the Hubs & I}? Share HOW you were cool in the comments section, and feel free to link up your own post as well! Have a GREAT weekend!