My job makes me thankful

Being a teacher makes me...

...thankful for my parents. They gave me rules and enforced them. They knew who my friends were and knew where I was at all times. They gave my consequences for making poor choices. I hated all of it as a teenager, but today I am especially grateful.

...thankful for my childhood. My parents worked hard to shelter me from the big, bad, scary world. My dad commuted an hour to work every day for my entire school career in order to preserve my innocence and naivety.

...thankful my childhood was not cut short by anything like what's happened in my community.