Sometimes I wonder whether it is possible to learn how to be a good parent. So many of the skills required seem to be only half conscious, and so much of the rest seems to boil down just to strength, energy, and good humor. But I do see people almost every day who are doing a better job of it than I am in one way or another, and sometimes a little of it rubs off. So I have some hope of getting better. But time is running out for me; Kyle and Amanda are both probably past their most formative years. If I had it all to do over again I might be able to do a little better with the skills part, but I'd probably do worse with the strength/energy/good-humor part.
I heard a funny story this morning. A republican home-schooling friend of mine (yes, I do have some friends who lean that way) got a newsletter in the mail yesterday from some Christian home-schooling association in which the editors went on at considerable length about the fact that 14 million children now have joined the Church of Satan as a result of reading the Harry Potter books. The newsletter's source? This article in The Onion. My friend called the newsletter's editors this morning to explain the nature of this publication. He may also have had to explain the concept of satire -- he didn't say -- but I thought it was good of him to set them straight.
http://www.brecheen.org/cbrecheen/Entry2001-01-04.htm; © 2001 Cole Brecheen; All Rights Reserved.