Just reminding myself...

... that kids are not accoutrements.  They do not exist to bolster our egos.  They deserve our blood, sweat, and tears.  They deserve every ounce of selflessness we can muster.  We do not own them.  They are not property.  We should not put them into a box of our own making, disrespecting their uniqueness and singular beauty.  

They will not ruin our lives.  They *will* ruin the lifelessness of an existence we imagine is about simply enjoying ourselves while our souls skitter along the surface, unable to penetrate into the depths of what being human is all about.

It is about love and love is not a feeling that changes with the fluctuation of chemicals in our brain.  It is deeper than that and transcends biology or circumstance.  It is about the privilege of taking on the suffering of another person.  This is something our culture does not understand.

  

Not that I am some expert, heavens no!  But I see it all around me and feel it gnawing at my edges trying to get in which terrifies me.  Our kids dangle at the precipice of our selfishness, oblivious to the possibility of disaster at arm’s reach.  

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