A Quick Thought on Parenting

The Queen and I have been chatting here of late about the nature of parenting. It's been a discussion born of our experience fostering and then adopting through the foster care system. The Queen, being the humble soul that she is, remains concerned about how M&M sees her and whether she is being a good mommy to her.

I, being the dutiful husband/father, have assured The Queen on many occasions that she is, in fact, a terrific mother. The only mother M&M has ever truly known.

Then, I had a sudden fit of clarity if you want to call it that.

I told The Queen that being a parent has nothing to do with the blood, but it has everything to do with the love.

M&M sees us as her parents not because of any genetic bond. She sees us as her parents because we genuinely care for her and her well being, we praise her and set boundaries for her, we comfort her and make her feel safe, we hug her and kiss her and call her George.

We also provide for her physical needs, but that has nothing do with how she sees us as parents. She is too young to be materialistic. She has no idea whether the clothes she wears are designer labels or not. She has no idea whether the food we feed her is organic or conventionally raised. The only thing she cares about at this point is that she is with us.

It's just my opinion, but I think the world would be a better place if people put more emphasis on the love and less on the blood and material things.