Changing the goal posts

When my first child was born, I think I thought I was going to raise the perfect child. Then with the second, I thought, I just hope they are happy. With my third, I realised that enforcing happiness is a burden, and I just hoped I could raise authentic human beings. While my fourth was growing up, I hoped they would learn resilience and how to cope in this crazy world.  Number 5 has made me realise that the goal is to survive the next few years and let them all sort themselves out when they are grown up.