I am a scientist by training, and had my life all arranged, when I found out I was pregnant and came unglued.    My Mom, my Grandma and my aunts steadied me, and taught me how to learn what I needed to know for each child. At the time, I had no idea what solid theoreticians these “just plain folks” were, nor how fortunate I was.  I applied my scientific background to their training, and further discovered evidence that the scientific method, which I had once thought was a product of brilliant adult minds, is inherent to tiny babies.

I had no idea how fortunate I was until many years later when I wound up in group therapy as the one person who’d had really good parents.  As their individual tales came out, I found myself identifying, not with the abused children, for I was not abused, but the worn-out, harried, confused parents.  It broke my heart to hear what well-meaning people do to their own children out of sheer ignorance.  I could see myself doing so many of those things, had I not been blessed with better guidance.  I also learned that it is a humbling experience to witness the love of an adult child for an errant parent.