I have learned a few things about parenting over the last 38 years. 

I use a warmed and soft cloth to bathe skin.  This prevents a chill.  I touch a spoonful of applesauce against closed lips that refuse to eat.  They open for a few bites once the sweet taste relaxes clenched jaws.  I smile and speak calmly when a temper tantrum erupts.  A soft voice helps lessen the anger.  I say sip and swallow when I give medicine.  Dissolved pills on a tongue are unpleasant.  I pull the covers up at night and look into a sleepy and confused face.  I bend down and kiss a forehead as I say, “Goodnight Mom, I’ll see you in the morning.”

As I left the hospital that drizzly night, I was still learning how to parent.  I was learning to parent my mom.  However, though even though I was learning to parent in a new way, what was really changing was my character.  I was the one who was changing, I was becoming a better son.