monk222: (Flight)
monk222 ([personal profile] monk222) wrote2006-12-14 05:59 am
Entry tags:

Loving Your Child


“When it came to trying to decide which theories of child-rearing were highly beneficial and which were absolutely ruinous to the future of your child — a subject of considerable discussion among some parents we knew — we agreed on a simple notion: your children are either the center of your life or they’re not, and the rest is commentary.”

At one point, Alice was working at a camp for children with genetic disorders. She wondered how one child, L., could be so cheerful, even though she neither grew nor could digest food. Then she saw a letter from L.’s mother: “If God had given us all of the children in the world to choose from, L., we would only have chosen you.” Alice pulled aside Trillin: “Quick. Read this. It’s the secret of life.”


-- David Brooks for The New York Times

Mr. Brooks is promoting some essays, and the above quote comes from one by Calvin Trillin writing about his late wife, Alice.

xXx