There is a fear most parents share

There’s a fear I presume most parents share: that your child will be so different from you that you’ll never truly connect. You’ll love them no matter what; you know that to be true. But a part of you — perhaps the more selfish part — also wants to find common ground. You want a shared interest, something to talk about, some private ritual, some inside joke, something to reinforce the genetic lifeline between you. You hope that when their adult selves come home, 30 years hence — when they step off the train or airplane or spacecraft or whatever they’ve got by then — that your connection remains stronger than merely the nose or eyes or freckles you share.

(in context, the joy of going on a hike in a familiar wood with his 5-year-old daughter)

Discovered at Patapsco: Entrance