Page 9 - Perfect Parents, Perfect Children, and Other Fairy Tales

I know one mother that wasn’t any more than a
housekeeper. She had almost nothing to do with her

children, and when she did, the children felt like
they were a nuisance to her. She kept the house
clean but spent as much time as she could in her

bedroom, apparently trying to escape having to
spend time with her little ones.

I know that at least one of those children feels very
hurt by her lack of involvement. Perhaps she never
yelled at them. Perhaps she never was impatient.

But she didn’t do very much right, either.

She didn’t teach them to cook, to sew, or to clean.
It was much easier to just do it herself. She didn’t

teach them piano or gardening or even how to get
along with other people. She didn’t take them
swimming. She sent them there on their own, riding

their bikes.

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Every parent

needs a break. But what was glaringly obvious was
that she just plain didn’t want her children around

and sent them away every chance she could find.

She did dye Easter eggs with her children once. She

didn’t smile at all the whole time, and it was clear
that she was anxious to get the whole ordeal over
with as soon as possible.

But most of all, she didn’t ask how their school day

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