when i was a teenager i had a friend who’s mom was by teenager standards the coolest mom in town. she would buy us beer, let us stay out as late as we wanted, let us get high and even on some occasions join in lighting up with us.

i remember everyone used to go on and on about how great she was and kenny would just shrug, barely acknowledging our lavish praise.

it wasn’t until i was much older that i realized what kenny inherently knew. his mom wasn’t cool, she was failing him.

i have known a lot of parents who have tried a variety of tricks to win the affection of their children and inevitably they all seem to fail in both winning the love they seek and in raising a quality human. in fact it seems to me that anything shy of accepting a child for who they are and stepping up to all the joys and chores of parenthood is going to lead to some level of failure.

this was all real easy to say for the guy with a two and four year old who hasn’t yet realized the scars he’s afflicted on his children. check back in fifteen years…