Not needing to parent is the goal. That means you did something right. However, you never stop being a parent. Your kids will always need a question answered or advice on something. My dad was never my friend and still isn't. We get along and have intelligent conversations. I ask advice and he will ask my opinion. My mother (who raised my other 4 brothers) was always their friend first. This led to 3 being arrested, one going to prison, all of them doing drugs, one brother with 3 kids, one with 2 kids and the other 2 with 6 kids each.

The point being, you never really stop needing to parent. The parenting simply evolves as time goes on. My kids don't hate and actually like me a lot. However, they respect me because they know I am not here to sit around and be buddy buddy with them.