Every Parent's Bedroom Wall

I shared with my dad the wonderful New Yorker piece by Calvin Trillin on his late wife, Alice. After reading it, he emailed his thoughts to me and to others.

Here is the email, published without permission. What's he gonna do, sue me?

Here's a wonderful quote from a "New Yorker" article that Mike gave me...which ought to be framed on every parent's bedroom wall...

The author remembers a ride home from a dinner party at which everyone was discussing the ins-and-outs and pros-and-cons of different "methods" of child-rearing....

His wife looked over at him and said..."Your children are either the center of your life or they're not. All the rest is just commentary."

Meaning: if they're the center of your life, then by definition you're doing the best you can, and they know it, and there's no further issue of "right" or "wrong."

[Edit to add: This post was originally published here back in April, but it seemed appropriate to feature it again today for Father's Day. Of course, both moms and dads kept me in the center of their lives which certainly made it easy for me to be the parent I try to be to my three children. I love and appreciate you all.]