proud...

"I'm proud of you."

Four little words that mean so much. I just finished watching tonight's "one tree hill" and Julian "needed" his dad to tell him he was proud of him. It's crazy how much we just want to make people proud of us... particularly our parents. People crave it as children, but then seem to forget once they become parents how valuable the little phrase can be. Sometimes we just assume people know we're proud. Sometimes we wrap it up into achievements... whether it is academic or athletic or social... we're proud of you for good grades or proud of you for winning or proud of you for being successful. It becomes attached to circumstances. But are you proud of me for me being me? We get caught up in seeking approval from others. We want to be accepted. We want to hear, "I'm proud of you."