There IS a lot to be said for DNA, and you’re right; it is scary. And humbling. In my 25+ years of parenting, I can’t tell you how many kind, nurturing, and intelligent parents I’ve met who, like me, originally thought that when it came to parenting, everything was environmental. But by the time you’ve been around the parenting block a dozen or so times, it’s hard not to admit how HUGE genetics are in determining how a child develops. Nothing in parenting has been as black and white as I had anticipated it would be. Just as “the nurturing thing” really isn’t the entire shtick, blaming everything on genes isn’t either. The bottom line is that it’s still our duty to protect our progeny from their own inherent characteristics as well as to encourage and nurture their inherent talents. My hope for all of us is that we get to the point where we accept what IS and not beat ourselves up regarding the “shoulds” and “coulds.”

This morning when I was out watering my garden, I took note of the zinnias that had already bloomed, the ones about to bloom, and the straggly little ones that looked as if they would never bloom. Of course, some of the seeds never even saw the light of day, let alone grew buds. All these seeds came out of the same packet; I treated them all exactly the same way. The fact that some of them are blooming while others are little spindly stalks has little to do with me, the gardener.

There’s so much more one could say, but, no matter what the seed contains hidden within, it’s still our seed and a tragedy to our mother hearts when, no matter how much care we give it, it doesn’t prosper and grow. But, like I said, we still need to give it everything we’ve got!