Who is Miles' Parents from Looking for Alaska and what is their importance?

Miles' parents appear on only a few occasions in the novel, but are portrayed as well meaning and affectionate. Miles mother comes across as somewhat flighty and sentimental, while his father is portrayed as going along for her ride, but with a subversive sense of humor and mischief all his own. There is the sense that in the aftermath of everything that happens to Miles, he is going to end up more like his dad than his mom.