Parents

On Friday night, I had a couple of beers with Max at the Southern Sun. In reality, I had one beer and Max had three. Anyway, Max and I have known each other forever but hadn't seen each other in four years. While we were catching up, we got to talking about parents and blame. Then, the next day, I was reading on the plane and came across several chapters about parents and blame. Max, this quote's for you:

All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods into jagged little pieces, beyond repair....

"I hated him," [Eddie] mumbled.

[Ruby] nodded.

"He was hell on me as a kid. And he was worse when I got older."

Ruby stepped toward him. "Edward," she said softly. It was the first time she had called him by name. "Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.

"Forgive, Edward. Forgive."

~From "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom