Post 489 and counting

When your babies get to a certain age you tell them to bathe more often, think about teaching them to drive, and you buy them a razor so they do not resemble their hairy father (as much).  Today, the last round of all of this has finally come to pass for me.

I'm (almost 100% positively) not having any more children.  As 'they' say, "My work here is done."  Well, mostly.  Since the whole point of being a parent is to silently and elegantly make yourself redundant, while at the same time teaching 'the issue of your marriage' to be pleasant productive citizens who think for themselves.  I think, for the most part, that I (we actually, since it is a team sport) have done rather well.

I am--prepare to be shocked--really rather proud of my children.  They are thoughtful.  They are polite.  They are respectful.  Now, I don't mean that they are always that way to me or the missus, just to other people.

I don't actually need them to be all that to me.  I expect them to use me as a sounding board for growing up and becoming an adult.  I'll tell them where I think they went wrong.  If they fail to be polite to me, I am more than willing to forgive them.  Parents are, in my opinion, like a sparring partner.  You can hit them (figuratively) and they'll tell you when you blow it; no hard feelings.

Is it fun to be a parent?  Yeah.  Is it hard to be a parent?  It is (usually) easy to start, and hard to stick with the program 'til the end.  Is it worth it?  Considering that you are making several shiny adults out of stuff you have laying around anyway, it certainly is.  Even with all the elbow grease.