The Best You Can

As a parent,
You simply do
The best you can
Raising your children.
There is no guidebook
That tells you
Exactly what
You should do when.
You have to
Figure that out
As you go along.
You are only human.
You will make
A mistake or two
As you stumble
Bumble along,
And you just hope
And pray
That it all works out
Because of you,
As well as
In spite of you.
As your children grow
And take on
Lives and attitudes
Of their own,
Try not to haunt yourself
In retrospect
Of the things
You didn't do
When you had a chance.
Whether or not
Your children turn out
Good or bad,
You set the best example
You could
Knowing what you knew then.
Sometimes
You might confidently think
You taught them well,
But only time will tell .
Eventually each child
Will choose his or her
Own path
Largely independent of you,
And as always,
You hope for the best.
Sometimes
An older child
Will try to blame you
For what they judge
You did wrong
When they were
Growing up.
What was done was done.
You did the best
You could,
And until they realize
And accept that fact,
They will never
Really grow up!
Sometimes
Your children will do
Astounding things,
And you will feel
Rightfully proud,
And sometimes
They will do
Terrible things,
And you will
Feel deeply ashamed
And question
Everything you did
Raising them,
Trying to figure out
What went wrong.
Either way,
Passing blame
Helps neither you nor them.
Ultimately,
You can't take
Full credit for
Their successes
Any more than
You can take full credit
Their failures.