When the comedian Pete Holmes heard that Mitch Hurwitz, the creator of Arrested Development, had two daughters who were both in their twenties, he congratulated him. “You did it!” he said, acknowledging that his friend had made it through the gauntlet, successfully raising two daughters to adulthood.
But Hurwitz refused to take the compliment. “You know,” he joked, “they did most of it.” Which is true! As we’ve said before, while being a parent is incredibly important, we’re not nearly as important as we think we are.
We do our best to set a good example. They do most of the work.
As hard as our job is, they have it way harder. Don’t you remember being ten? Or fifteen? Or twenty? You don’t remember being a kid . . . probably because you were so busy literally developing a brain. So yes, it’s amazing to see what they’ve become and what they’ve done.
Just remember that they get the credit (and you get the blame).