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RE: To put a value on your children
Your daughter is beautiful. Ours have flown the coop-- at 25, 29 and 31. In retrospect... perhaps the hardest wasn't in any manual, nor was it taught by anyone... that fine line between being "their friend" and being "their parent." A time comes where parents aren't necessarily liked but friends are and we must push our personal biases aside. We inherently want to be both but it's not always possible.
We tried to be authentic... but not everything is predictable.
I say this now, but I think I am going to be the parent and less friend. I have that tendency, even with my friends.
I am quite curious and willing to explore where others may find boring, scary or useless and at times I 'may' be a little single-minded in my investigations. Do you remember writing the post about not being fun at parties? I am rarely fun. I am not saying that I am right of course, but I think many would like to kill the cat :)
I do my best each day though, and fail regularly. Where's the fun in predictable.
It must be strange to know humans from birth to adulthood. To hold them on their first day and then see them run, jump, drive, fall in love and get their hearts broken.
I think everyone does the best they can with the tools they have and even the worst parents on earth are doing their utmost. They just don't have the right tools. The number one tool to have is the one that allows for the development and understanding of tools. We aren't stuck with the ones we are born with, nor the ones we have been taught to use along the way.
Like I said, responsibility. No one can learn a skill for you.
Specially if and when she asks, you won't have any other most positive option but tell her exactly what you know. ¿That you could be wrong in your point of view at that very moment when she asks you? Yeah! probably. But most likely you will not be. And in any case, she will find out for herself sooner rather than later the correct answer.
Children are extremely curious, unforgiving observers and restless explorers. They will always be able to intuit, forebode, sense and perceive when someone is lying to them or is trying to manipulate them with a false pose. They read the gestures with the same ease with which they are able to devour a candy. It's not a big surprise, that for something, they are the great masters of manipulation. :)
It is said that you can pinpoint a liar sooner than a lame. And performing that act in front of such restive, agile and keen observers is more than fruitless. Especially if they, along with that sharp view, are also blatantly curious.
Therefore, summarizing. What for me would be the moral of the story here is...
"Not being authentic and faithful to ourselves is way too much of a heavy burden to carry on through our life"
Hahaha ¡Perfect! all those are magnificent examples of the topics of the questions that your daughter will undoubtedly ask you soon and that you will have to answer with absolute honesty and authenticity.
I know that you will come out totally unscathed and triumphant from such harsh interrogatory. :)