‘Thank God for good parents’

Why do I think parents are so important?

Because when I was a child, I had an abusive father. He beat me regularly and beat my mother so badly that at times I thought he killed her.

After many years of heartache, we were able to get away from him, but he came after us and kidnapped my mother and threatened to kill her.

My brother, sister and I were sent to a guardian’s home. It was tough. Really tough.

But Mom escaped, my father went to prison, and we then started a normal life.

My mother remarried and my stepfather was a great guy. My mother, grandmother and my new father really saved my brother, sister and I.

So I know how important good parents are. I’ve seen the worst and I’ve seen the best.

I am thankful every day for a great mom, grandmother and stepfather. Without them, I really don’t know how I would have ended up. Thank God for good parents.

• Dan Burton, a Republican, is a former U.S. representative for Indiana. He was a lead sponsor of legislation creating the federal Parents’ Day commemorative holiday in 1994.