The Best Possible Light

I've been thinking a lot about interference in other people's decisions and when it's necessary to speak up.  After all, we're all adults, and people are entitled to make their own choices.

Still, it can be hard.  Harder, I think, when you're a parent and might see your (adult) child's actions as a reflection of your prior parenting decisions. One of my favorite passages on this point is in The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, when the narrator is dealing with the fact that her son has impregnated two women:

I turn and face him.
For a long time I see this man.
I see him and I think, I am the one who taught him to regard himself as a blessing.

The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing

When he says, "I love you, honey," you realize that he never calls you by your name.