The sacrifice of being a parent

My boys can drive me to the brink of insanity. They can melt my heart with a kiss. They can torture me with loud music and dirty clothes. They can make me laugh with their funny ways.
How can I let them grow? Now in middle school, its time for me to let them stretch their legs a bit. Let them go off by themselves to the movies, or the skate park. How?? I want to keep them under my wing forever and protect them. I'm scared for them in this world we live in today. How things have changed...I suppose all parents including my own have said this. But I hope that I have given and continue to give them the right tools to do the right thing. I thank God each day that I am home to be with them, and to guide them.
I see so many children in trouble. Rebels without a cause. What are they fighting for? Freedom? From what? Their parents? Or fighting because they have too much freedom? Where is Mom and Dad?? Working. Who meets them at the door after school? No one. A quiet and empty house. Growing up too fast. Learning lifes lessons to soon. I wish I could hug those children. When was the last time you really hugged your child? When was the last time you looked them in the eye and told them "I love you."?
I mourn the loss of family. And although those values are still intact in my home, I'm sad for the homes that family isn't valued. I feel for the children that have to grow up in daycare. Nothing replaces Mom. Nothing replaces walking through the door after school and smelling cookies. Nothing.
So many parents say that they "Have" to have two incomes. Really? I don't believe it. What they "have" to have is the big screen tv, the brand new cars, the huge mortgage on their huge home, the trips, the fancy clothes and the fancy toys...
Sacrifice. Its what we do the day we become parents. Its going without so you can be there for your children when they need you. Look at society. Its a mess. Its falling apart. No one eats together as a family anymore. No one sits and plays with their children. No one cares. Everyone is in such a hurry that before they know it, its over. Your children are grown.
Not mine. My boys will be forever young in my eyes. They will always be able to come home and find the smell of cookies, or something cooking when they walk in the door. They will remember their childhood as a care-free time when innocence was protected. They will remember being at the kitchen table for dinner every night. Laughter, family, food, fun, and warmth.
We have become such a spoiled nation. We are supposed to be adults, but there are so many selfish, spoiled people now. When did this happen. When did we care more about the car were driving than our children? When did owning the biggest house become so important? What happened to this country? And the biggest question, is how can we change it? What needs to happen?
The only answers I have, are to look at your children. This is the future. What are we doing to them? What morals, and values are we teaching them? Are you able to sleep at night, knowing that no matter what, your child will do the right thing?