Before I pass out the booklets to you all, thought I’d close this mission with some advice given to me years ago by my son. His assessment of the world was pretty spot on I’d say; he was about 3 years old at the time.

1. There are a lot of splinters in the world.

2. Little kids don’t like the dark; it’s usually hard to see.

3. Isn’t it hard to always be nice?

4. We don’t eat houses. We don’t eat lotion. We don’t break things.

5. You never know when a snake is going to pop up.

6. Sometimes kids laugh real hard.

7. We don’t know where audiences live.

8. Some people are home. Some people are in the forest.

9. You can be sad but not cry.

Thank you again, Justin, for these aphorisms. And thank you, readers, for offering up your wonderful parenting insights this week.

You can now‚ grab your PARENThetical Thoughts Parenthetical book. I think you’ll really dig—and get something out of—this booklet.

Wishing you much joy (and minimal “oy”) in your parenting journey,

amy