those types of child-hating parents are usually people who see "parent" as a noun when it's really a verb. they like the title but not the job, and it fucks up both sides of the relationship.

i did not want to be a parent but married into ready-made family, so i sort of saw my job as a relief pitcher. runners were on base when i got to the mound, so brother i'm just trying to throw heat and get us out of the inning.

i accepted the kids as they came and encouraged what best i could infer as their most fulfilling and rewarding traits and habits. and i won't lie, i put way more in than i got back (so far) but that's the job. no complaints here.

well, maybe one: as a step, it stings when you see your biological counterpart get a hero's welcome for remembering to venmo some cash over to the kid three days after their birthday. but comparison is the thief of joy, etc. and, like i said, it's not the kids' fault. if he'd been better at the job, i wouldn't have had my chance to "pitch" after all.