Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast, where we provide one lesson every single day to help you with your most important job, being a parent.

I'm Ryan Holiday, and I draw these lessons from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, practical wisdom, and insights from parents just like you

all over the world. Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

All they want is this. It was a long time ago. It was a pretty conservative place in a less understanding

era. And even if it wasn't, even in different circumstances, no parent wants to walk in to see

their teenager making out with someone in their room. But in this case, a mom had been stunned to find

her daughter on top of the covers with her daughter's best girlfriend. She slammed the door and ran out of the room.

The girls were mortified. A few minutes later, they heard a knock. Are you decent? Her father asked

tentatively before entering. Was he going to yell? Would he kick them out? I want you both to know

that I don't care if you're, he said, before cutting himself off. And then he just looked at his daughter and said,

Sarah's a lot cuter than Dustin, referring to his daughter's last boyfriend.

Your mom will get over it, he said.

And then he walked back downstairs.

We can imagine the enormous relief that both girls felt in that moment.

Sarah, who tells this story from

the early 1990s in her beautiful memoir High School, co-written with her twin sister and bandmate

in the band, Tegan, and Sarah. They would actually both come out a few years later. Her friend?

Was it just experimenting? We don't know. And it doesn't really matter. Your kids are going to do

things that surprise you. They may do or become things that you don't know and it doesn't really matter. Your kids are going to do things that surprise you.

They may do or become things that you don't understand. But that doesn't change your job,

which is to love and to accept and appreciate them. That's what they want. That's what they need.

And that's what you promised to give them when they were born. Nothing gets you off that hook,

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