Exposure

My teenage grand/daughter knocked on the door while I was taking a bath. "Come in", I said without hesitation.

Yes, after 38 years of bath-time interruptions, it no longer occurs to me that I should attempt to maintain a shred of dignity.

So on the topic of parental exposure, let me say that I think every parent should write an autobiography. It isn't that I think our dirty little secrets should all be out in the open, but rather I believe it's important that all children understand that their parents had lives before they had them.

I'm not a psychologist (although I play one at home), so I can't say for sure why children hold their parents to an unattainable standard of perfection. We must be 100% fair at all times. We shouldn't have feelings of our very own. We can't be swayed by prior acts, whether committed by that particular child or someone else.

We are supposed to be robots.

I'm not a robot. I'm a real person, raised by real parents, with real siblings, judged by real people, dealing with real problems...all while living in the real world. It ain't easy, folks. And kids need to know that everything that happened in our lives prior to this very moment affect who we are and how we react to every situation.

Some day I'll write my book. Maybe by then the kids will have gained enough maturity to understand.

Until then, children, take note: It's not all about you.