my hopes for Val

is that he will be free to dream,
or not to dream.
it's really easier said than done,
knowing that the relentless tide of parenting paranoia,
the inexorable guilt,
and therefore overwhelming desire "to do my best" for my kid,
lurk in the shadows
threatening to
to suck the life force out of all parents
transforming them into
dark monsters
in a deep
musty
creepy
slimey
hole