Sons and Daughters

I have a pre-adolescent boy and a teenage daughter. Parenting them is pretty challenging, and sometimes overwhelming. I always thought that as a parent, I would issue a command, and my children would quickly run to obey simply because I am the coolest dad in the world and they love me so much that they always want to make me happy. That has happened at least zero times in my life.

But it is amazing to me how much I love my kids. I am proud of them, and I genuinely like them as people. I would hang out with them if I were their age. I was always a little worried that my kids might end up being like the people I can't stand being around, but that hasn't happened, and I am so grateful.