Thought no. Dec 20th 2008

Can you imagine how difficult it must be to be a parent?

Every action, having an equal or opposite reaction, can possibly be that your children end up scarred for life or turn into sociopath's that lead to jail or an appearance on Dr.Phil.

From changing their diapers and bathing them, 

To teaching them to poop into those little buckets,

To having THAT talk with them...

Can you imagine how difficult that must be?

I mean, even your parents probably didn't know any better when they had you.

They probably prepared as soon as they knew, 

But learning the theory and the actual application is an amazing step.

Every child is different is probably the most commonly used phrase in parenting.

What works for another child, over years and years of testing, may not work on yours because he/she is special in just that particular way.

Then what do you do as a parent?

You learn on the job.

You try, formulate hypothesis's of your own and experimenting,

Hoping, praying that it becomes a theory that you can apply it throughout your child(rens) lifetime.

And if the experiment fails:

You still pray and hope that it does not cause your child to hate you indefinitely.

Nobody is born as a great parent. 

It takes untold amounts of will, skill, creativity and patience that allows you to grip on to your sanity.

And the willingness to learn, and to adjust your strategy to each child.

It involves you earning their respect as they grow older, without losing your ability to communicate to them on their level and as an adult who has had the benefit of experience.

You will need to learn phsyiology (for the pains in their body), western and eastern medicine (when they get sick), a basic understanding of their interests (music, sports, dance, socializing - and that these things can change from minute to minute) and managing the househole finances.

There can be no tougher job than to be a parent. 

You need to know everything on a subject that even the experts resort to the fact that nobody knows anything.

You get little pay, but the occasional large dividend and a very handsome pension plan if you're successful.

There are ways to tell if parents are bad (think Michael Jackson),

But it is a lot harder to tell if a parent is good,

Other than their child's opinion.

But more often than not, a child does not know if they have a good parent,

Because the world that they are brought up in is all they have ever known.

To those who have seen/heard of families that is not their own,

That is when they appreciate or understand more of their own.

In conclusion, after much rambling,

This is a shoutout to all the parents out there,

Who're doing their best to do the best for their children,

Keep it up!