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by once_inc 1294 days ago
As time progresses my respect, love, and admiration for my parents increases. They didn't do a perfect job, but they did it perfectly.
5 comments

Sundays too my father got up early

and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,

then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather made

banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.

When the rooms were warm, he’d call,

and slowly I would rise and dress,

fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,

who had driven out the cold

and polished my good shoes as well.

What did I know, what did I know

of love’s austere and lonely offices?

Robert Hayden, "Those Winter Sundays"

Oh dear. This has made me a bit teary
it worked!
I completely agree with you. As we grow older and gain more life experiences, we are able to see and appreciate the hard work and sacrifices that our parents made for us. Even though they may not have done everything perfectly, their love and dedication to their family is truly admirable. It's important to recognize and show gratitude for their efforts and support.
Once you have kids for yourself, only then can you finally realize how much your parents (hopefully) loved you.
what's also fun is "perfect" just means "done" from its latin roots
They didn't do it perfectly but they did it perfectly? Do you have two different definitions for "perfect" and are mixing them?
Sometimes you do a perfect job, and sometimes you do a bad job perfectly.

But to avoid any more wordplay: Sometimes you need to use a flawed technique to achieve an end. You can execute that flawed technique perfectly, but that won't make it a perfect job.

Indeed, the 'perfect path' in life is not perfect. Life has so many paths, everything is a trade off. Spent more time with your kids? You loose time with friends etc. Whatever you do or choose in life, it means you can't do all the other stuff.

There were interesting comments about 'having regrets' previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33118584

I think you've missed the poetry.