I have failed to continue to set an example for a secure, loving family unit as an example for our children. That is the reality of it. There is no way of getting around it.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I want to make sure that no matter how long I go through this, I don't fall into the trap of changing and modifying how I do things that aren't a positive example. I want to remain somebody that the entire family can listen to or watch.
We don't have the family organization the way we used to. My father lives with us because we have the room. The greatest of all opportunities for our children is a complete family unit.
There are no adequate substitutes for father, mother, and children bound together in a loving commitment to nurture and protect. No government, no matter how well-intentioned, can take the place of the family in the scheme of things.
There are far too many children in America in need of a loving home who are shuttled between temporary homes and group shelters that fail to provide the stable, nurturing environment all children deserve.
You have to give kids from ordinary families a ladder. You have to show them there's a way out.
Open adoption, when it works, is fabulous. But when it goes wrong, it's so traumatizing for everybody.
In my family, as in all dysfunctional families, instead of parents who act as strong and nurturing role models for their children, you get these needy people who use their children. I was the kid who tried to take on the marriage.
Why do I have to be an example for your kid? You be an example for your own kid.
I won't do a role which children in my family cannot look up to.
I think I've been an incredible example to my kids of what not to do.