You’ve learned to treat these reactions with indifference. You’ve learned to smile in every situation, and at the point of conflict, to use the stronger ammunition of words. People who have known you and your child for years don’t know how you cope. With the awareness of the child’s illness, with the difficulties of daily life, with the drudgery of housework, with doctor visits, the constant lack of time
Anyone who thinks of children as sweet little angels, probably hasn’t spent much time with them, remembers little from their own childhood, or might just need their head examined. Often, such a person, already in their forties, suddenly discovers a burning desire to write books for kids. I would wholeheartedly advise against such a plan! While it might win you applause at the family table, it won’t guarantee international success. And it certainly won’t prepare you for the cruelty young pupils can sometimes inflict on a visiting author.
“Do you like to flirt with women?” a seven-year-old boy once asked.
