This is a very well written piece of literature. Most of us have been parented, and many of us are parents. It is indeed the hardest job in the universe. Trying to love, protect, and teach another being is often a most challenging endeavor. I have thought about this in length and detail. I have experienced my own progeny , each having a different take on how they were parented. It is often contended on negative experiences that they have had to deal with. Like most things in life; parenting is on a spectrum.

There are really lousy parents; ones who abuse, or allow abuse, ones who show little to no love or affection, and ones who make no effort to teach their children about life beyond the confines of their home. Then there are parents who truly try to do their best to lead their children down a path that they believe is good for them at that time. They love the best way they know how. They teach, and they try to protect. No matter how much you care for your children, most of us will fall short, not because of a lack of trying, but because we are human; with our own deficits, and foibles. The key, I believe to being the best parent that you can be at any given time is always in your motivations; are you trying to raise as healthy an individual as possible, or you just letting them struggle along until they leave the nest? It's cliché', but truth. There are no manuals that come with children. Even the most astute parent is going to drop the ball occasionally. If your parent, or parents were not abusive, and you as a person with your own inadequacies, who can look back and ponder what your life was truly like, can you offer some grace to individuals who were just trying to do their best? Again, I'm not saying that if your parents were abusive to let that go, and to forgive and just forget it. This is often impossible, however just look at it from a different perspective. It may make your heart a little more compassionate.

Lovely piece! Thank you!