The Perks of Parenthood

Yes god.
You're right I am a leach and a free loader
I dont deserve any of the things I want
No place to sleep no food to eat no worthiness of love no right to speak no right to laugh
I am eternally grateful for the ongoing gift of breathing and I'll lay at your feet like the grateful dog you've raised me to be

You've often asked what the point of having kids was, and i dont know either
What point was there to having kids who had to hold each parents hand and walk them through the basics of life as little more than toddlers
What point was there to having kids when they didnt repay the debt of being born by letting the abuse carry on
What point is there to having kids if they wont be emotional and physical punching bags?

Why is it that as a society we condone parental abuse in almost all its forms?
When someone speaks out against their parents, it's almost always seen as someone being an ungrateful brat as a first reaction rather stopping and even for a second acknowledging that maybe there are genuine issues instead of assuming "it's just another snowflake"

And I know that it's a hard pill to swallow when you struggle to put a roof over their heads and food on the table but dont forget, whether your child was there or not, you'd have to do that anyway.
That isnt a burden unique to parents that they would simply never have picked up if they never had kids.
The simple fact is providing only food and shelter, then blaming a kid for being alive because it makes life harder Is not enough to be called parenting.

It's being a tiny refugee in a strange country with laws you dont know, but are still expected to follow, with an indigenous population who hate you for reasons you dont know, maybe for only a few years or maybe for life, who knows

But one thing every creature worth being called human knows is that's not justification for beating them to within an inch of their lives, withholding or not feeling love for them, treating them as financial investments and making sure they know your waiting for the day they break even.

Not pulling out does not give you the right to demand divinity and a pedestal from your child, and It doesnt give you the right to hold their life against them.
It gives you the responsibility to care and provide, to the best of your ability, a stable and nurturing environment. And remember that you can be wrong
because parenthood does not come pre-packaged with an inability to make mistakes.

I hope that if I'm ever lucky enough to be I that position, I remember to raise children. Not little pilgrims to worship at the shrine of my Parenthood.