You want to be a good parent and you want to be a friend, and it's hard to be both. You have to balance it as well as you can.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I really don't know how to tell you what it feels like to be a parent.
There is nothing better than being a parent. It is the most challenging job one could ever ask for. I love being a mom and I love being a friend to my children as well.
I think you have to be a little bit strict. You can't be friend and their parent in a lot of situations, especially in this day and age where it's so dangerous for kids. So there's a bit of sternness, I guess, in the way I raise my kids.
The one thing about being a parent is the ability to be selfless: To give up the things you want and need for the benefit of someone else.
No matter what, it is very tricky and difficult just to be a good parent at all. I have a lot of help. And for that I'm very grateful.
Being a parent is not a reasonable thing. It is a very hard thing. I am a parent and I know.
I think it is important to be a friend to your kids. But it is also equally important to set boundaries. My mother was a strong influence, and so was my dad. My mom was my friend whom I couldn't cross.
Being a parent means my time use has to be a bit more focused, but it also gives me a new non-writing dimension to my life, which is a healthy thing. I can't wander along for weeks with an idea drifting through my head - I have someone who will drag me back into life, and that's a good thing.
What I've learned about being a parent is how much you sort of secretly learn from everyone else and how valuable it is.
You have to be the parent; you can't be their friend.