Parenthood is essentially a big gamble.  You will put years of hard work, difficult decisions, and mileage on your car into raising a child, and you won't know, until years later, whether or not that effort has paid off.

• All the different personalities of children, coupled with all the different parenting styles, leave us with too many combinations.  To make matters worse, most of us are convinced that only one of these many combinations will do the trick: Turn that brand new, wrinkly, red-faced, drooling, cry-baby into a contributing member of society.
• For many years, we will vacillate from being pretty sure our parenting skills are getting the job done, to knowing, without a doubt that our child will be a thumb-sucking, whiny, basket case, who will never learn math and whose sole purpose in life is to irritate you.
• From time to time, we might get some clues as to how we are doing.  Sometimes, the knowledge doesn't come until they are fully grown.
• Our 24-year old used to be a jokester, always clowning around.  He liked to be the center of attention.  Now, I can honestly say that, although he still retains his fun-loving side, he is the most logical of my children with the most common sense.  He reminds me of Abraham Lincoln.  He sees both sides of an issue, and with animosity towards none, chooses the one that makes the most sense.  Where did that

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