I was surprised how little my parents cared when they found out I had a few tattoos. My grandma went bonkers about it, which gave everyone a hearty laugh. I've had an interesting relationship with my parents growing up. I didnt get along with them much when I was a teenager, but they were never overly restrictive on what I could do. My friends used to tell me that my parents let me do whatever the hell I wanted, which wasnt exactly true. But they did allow me a certain amount of independence from a young age. I never had to lie to or deceive them about anything. My brother and sister had a very different relationship with them. I have no idea how the dynamics played out the way they did.
Focus: For the longest time after high school all my mother harped on me about was making sure I stayed in school and got my degree because that's what she did just like her Dad before her, even though I really didn't care much for college and preferred to just keep a job trying to earn my keep. Finally after basically getting thrown out/quitting and taking an "adult" job at a bank, she finally started to come around to the idea when I told her that I was now making more money than she was even after she had been at her job for 35 years. Now, she's given up on the idea of me finishing school as long as I keep a good job and am able to make a comfortable living situation for myself and my daughter. My father on the other hand was pretty much the exact opposite of my mother since he too had never finished school but focused rather on working his way up and getting by on his work ethic and general street smarts. So, you can say I pretty much followed in his footsteps. When he died, as we were going through all his old stuff, we found a timeline he had sketched out of his future plans for not only himself, but for my sister and I as well. It was probably the most depressing moment of my life because it was a moment where you saw the true sacrifices he made in his own life at the cost of his dreams, however far fetched they may have been.
Well, with my mom it's kinda weird. She went to trade school and had some strong opinions about "academics". As you might have guessed, I grew up in the countryside. My mom's boyfriend never rode on a train in his life and he's over 60, so that kind of countryside. Oh, and in the beginning he was afraid of me, because I went to university. Because...reasons, or something. So, she basically wanted me to learn a trade, then maybe go to secondary school and then maybe go to university later on, but I guess would have rather preffered if I learned something "real". My dad wouldn't have it and just signed me up for secondary school without her consent, which I'm still thankful for (we have a three tier school system in Germany, you can eventually make your way to college/university from any level of school, but it takes a hell of a lot more time/effort). It's not that she's not proud of me now, but I still don't really get her reasoning at the time. At the point where the three branches of school split, you're like 11/12, so I didn't really grasp what either choice would have meant.