Hi Marty!
Being a guitarist myself and practicing pretty much all the time, I always get hassled by my mother, she is always telling me to leave the guitar and do other things but she does not understand that this is my passion. However, my question to you is, did your parents ever give you the same lecture about practicing too much and tell you that you were wasting your time?

Yes and it is up to YOU to prove to THEM that you are able to make something (read=money) from music somehow before they will change their tune. And if you do, they will.