I can't even remember when I came across this excerpt on Simple Lovely. But how wonderful! It has stuck with me and if I could carry one piece of parenting advice with me as I start this journey, this might be it. Without further ado:
Stila Founder, Jeanine Lobell via Into the Gloss: "When I was eighteen, my dad was visiting me in New York and he said to me, ‘Honey, see that guy over there, with the hot dog stand? There’s nobody standing there, telling him to spread the mustard this way, or that’s how much relish to use. You need to get your own hot dog stand.’ I think that I’m lucky that my dad knew that I just couldn’t function like that—that I was never going to be able to work in a traditional job. I’m lucky though, because most parents would be like, ‘What the hell, you can’t even keep a job?’ So I would say that I’m very lucky that he just knew who I was, and didn’t have a problem with it."
Stila Founder, Jeanine Lobell via Into the Gloss: "When I was eighteen, my dad was visiting me in New York and he said to me, ‘Honey, see that guy over there, with the hot dog stand? There’s nobody standing there, telling him to spread the mustard this way, or that’s how much relish to use. You need to get your own hot dog stand.’ I think that I’m lucky that my dad knew that I just couldn’t function like that—that I was never going to be able to work in a traditional job. I’m lucky though, because most parents would be like, ‘What the hell, you can’t even keep a job?’ So I would say that I’m very lucky that he just knew who I was, and didn’t have a problem with it."
...But I especially love that last line, as that's the really the magic bullet, don't you think? This ability to really know your children's characters -- their habits and passions and interests and then helping them become the best possible version of themselves (rather than trying to mold them into exactly who *you* want them to be) is just huge. – via Simple Lovely
