Junior, stop picking your nose! If you throw one more green bean …! You said what to your teacher!
Dad, think back to all those times your kids tested your patience and restraint. Many “calamities” are humorous memories today. Others are life-changing and remain indelible in our minds. As parents, we have run the gamut of hurtful comments, insults and even tragedies.
No book of instructions
How many times have you caught yourself saying, “You just wait until you have kids of your own!”? As parents we are yanked every which way. There is no guidebook that refers us to a page for drag racing or experimenting with pot or going too far in a parked car. We rely on instinct or perhaps personal experience. We lie awake at night wondering if we said or did the right thing. We second-guess ourselves. Our head is filled with anger, regret and guilt. If only my son or daughter could feel what I’m feeling right now.
You laid the foundation