Oh, High Is The Price Of Parenthood,

Behind Every Myth Lies A Truth; Beyond Every Legend Is Reality, As Radiant (sometimes As Chilling) As The Story Itself.

In A Successful Marriage, There Is No Such Thing As One's Way. There Is Only The Way Of Both, Only The Bumpy, Dusty, Difficult, But Always Mutual Path.

The Thing To Remember About Fathers Is, They're Men. A Girl Has To Keep It In Mind: They Are Dragon Seekers, Bent On Improbable Rescues. Scratch Any Father, You Find Someone Chock - Full Of Qualms And Romantic Terrors, Believing Change Is A Threat - Like Your First Shoes With Heels On, Like Your First Bicycle I Took Such Months To Get.

The System - The American One, At Least - Is A Vast And Noble Experiment. It Has Been Polestar And Exemplar For Other Nations. But From Kindergarten Until She Graduates From College The Girl Is Treated In It Exactly Like Her Brothers. She Studies The Same Subjects, Becomes Proficient At The Same Sports. Oh, It Is A Magnificent Lore She Learns, Education For The Mind Beyond Anything Jane Austen Or Saint Theresa Or Even Mrs. Pankhurst Ever Dreamed. It Is Truly Utopian. But Utopia Was Never Meant To Exist On This Disheveled Planet.

Mere Wealth, I Am Above It, / It Is The Reputation Wide, / The Playwright's Pomp, The Poet's Pride / That Eagerly I Covet.