One of the biggest surprises of parenting is realizing there comes a day when your children stop looking to you for every answer … and start changing the way you see the world.
For years, I thought my job was to introduce my children to the people, places, traditions, and music that had shaped me. I never imagined they’d eventually return the favor.
This summer, my son Blake asked Sean and me to go see Rush with him. If you’re a Rush fan, you may want to stop reading for a moment because I’m about to confess something.
For decades, I couldn’t stand them.
It wasn’t really because of the music. It was because of what the music represented to me.
Back in middle school, my best friend and I eventually took very different paths. As she made choices that I knew weren’t right for me, certain bands became permanently linked to that chapter of my life. Rush was one of them. So were Styx and REO Speedwagon. The music wasn’t the problem. It was everything the music reminded me of.
However, Blake is a huge Rush fan.
So this summer, I went to the concert with an open mind. As I watched the performance, something unexpected happened. Somewhere between the opening song and the encore, I realized I had spent decades judging a band for reasons that had nothing to do with the band.
As Blake pointed out the things that make Rush legendary, I started listening differently. I began noticing the precision, the complexity, and just how intentional every note seemed to be. For the first time, I understood why so many people consider Rush one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Somewhere along the way, my 17-year-old son had changed my mind.
The older I get, the more I realize parenting isn’t just about teaching our children. It’s also about being willing to let them teach us.
Our kids introduce us to new music, new technology, new restaurants, and new ways of seeing the world. They challenge our opinions. They ask questions we can’t answer. Sometimes they even help us let go of ideas we’ve been carrying around for decades.
As parents, we spend so much time trying to prepare our children for adulthood. We teach them values, encourage them to work hard, and hope they’ll grow into kind, thoughtful people.
But if we’re paying attention, they’ll keep shaping us too.
That concert reminded me how easy it is to carry old stories with us long after they’ve stopped serving us. Mine happened to be about a rock band.
The real question is: what’s yours?
Maybe it’s a band. Maybe it’s a tradition. Maybe it’s a first impression you’ve never questioned. Maybe it’s a person you’ve quietly written off. Whatever it is, we all carry stories that shape the way we see the world, often without realizing it.
I walked into that concert convinced I knew exactly how I felt about Rush.
I walked out realizing the band had never really been the issue. I’d been listening through the lens of my past for far too long.
And for that, I’m grateful, not just because I discovered a new appreciation for one of rock’s greatest bands, but because my son reminded me that we’re never too old to see something through a different lens.
Maybe that’s one of the greatest surprises of parenting. We spend years hoping to shape our children’s view of the world, only to discover they’ve been shaping ours in unexpected ways all along.
Martha Jackson, host of The Bubble Lounge Podcast, has lived in University Park for 20 years. She’s passionate about connecting with fellow moms, supporting local businesses, and finding humor in the chaos. You can find her at bubblelounge.net and on Instagram @bubbleloungepodcast.
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