'When we have children, we know that they will need us, and maybe love us, but we don't have a clue how hard it is going to be. We also can't understand when we are pregnant, or when our relatives are expecting, how profound and dicey it is to have a a shared history with a child, shared blood, shared genes, even humor...you wait and see what what will come of it, and with people, that almost always means a mess.'
Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually), p.89.
