certainthings

Your parents did not want you. Think about it.
By that I mean they wanted a baby – one to raise in their loving care – with the expectation that you would grow up in such a way as to be compatible with them, their values, their religion, and their life style.
Be a genuine Jeeper, for example.
But it doesn’t usually work out that way.

And you did not want your parents, either. Think about that.
You didn’t know what you wanted in the way of parents until you began growing up and started becoming aware of who you are.
Which may not mean being a Jeeper.

What your parents imagined is rarely what you turned out to be.
What you want in parents is rarely what you think you would prefer.
With compromise and time and distance and some wisdom, the final match is at least workable, but not what you think you might have ordered if you had a menu to select from in the first place.
But. We get used to it.

-Robert Fulghum

The rest of the essay is here. And if you read it the word "Jeeper" will make sense.

Happy Mother's Day.

And because I like to post tl;dr quotes ...

Robert Fulghum:

( For twenty-five years of my life, the second Sunday in May was trouble. )

Finally a footnote. You will never really know what kind of parent you were or if you did it right or wrong. Never. And you will worry about this and them as long as you live. But when your children have children and you watch them do what they do, you will have part of an answer.