by Jesse Hunter

The art of parenting is usually learned the hard way. There are plenty of informative guides out there， covering seemingly any and all possible parental predicaments one might encounter. But ask any parent and theyll tell you， no amount of planning prepares you for the emotional onslaught to come.

My newlywed wife and I plan on having children in the next few years. Ive always dreamt of being a dad， which goes beyond the mere planting of my seed. I may have come from my fathers genetic material， but many of my most positive traits come from my“Godfather”， who helped my mom raise me through thick and thin， out of the goodness of his heart.

In The Second-Hardest Job， youll see what its like to be a stepparent， tackling vicious stereotypes while doing one of the most thankless jobs in the world； one many unappreciated people take on， not because they are required to （since theyre not）， but out of sheer love.

Stepparents arent the only ones who have it rough. At least my mom had help when she needed it. In What Is It Like to Be a Single Father， youll hear about all the obstacles one young widower faced， while simply trying to give his son a better life （or just a nice day at the park）.

Can you imagine anything more difficult than caring for an infant whose fatal fate is sealed？ For a heart wrenching story of patience and persistence， even under the most futile circumstances， read Notes From a Dragon Mom. （Warning： tears likely to be shed.）

Woah！ Parenting seems scary. Countless fears lay dormant （for now） in my heart， but I will one day enter into parenthood with my eyes and heart wide open， ready for all the happiness and heartache to come.

為人父母之道，往往要?dú)v經(jīng)艱難困苦才能習(xí)得。坊間充斥著大量的有用指引，似乎涵蓋了每個(gè)為人父母者會(huì)遇到的所有困境。但若是隨機(jī)問一位家長，他們會(huì)告訴你，再多的計(jì)劃也無法讓你在即將到來的情感沖擊中做好準(zhǔn)備。

我和新婚妻子計(jì)劃過幾年才生孩子。我一直夢(mèng)想當(dāng)上爸爸，這可不僅僅是播下種子這么簡(jiǎn)單。我可能源自我父親的基因物質(zhì)，但我的大部分優(yōu)秀品質(zhì)卻來自我的“教父”，他出自真心，協(xié)助我媽媽含辛茹苦地把我撫養(yǎng)成人。

在《一位繼母的歡樂與哀愁》一文中，你將看到當(dāng)一名繼母是怎樣的狀況：做著世界上其中一份最不討好的工作，處理各種不同的問題；擔(dān)起這份工作的人多不被人看好，不是因?yàn)樗麄儽仨毜眠@么做（他們并不需要），而是出于純粹的愛。

繼父母并非唯一處境艱難的人群。至少我的媽媽有需要的時(shí)候還是能獲得幫助的。在《單身父親血淚史》一文中，你將聽說到所有年輕鰥夫?qū)⒁鎸?duì)的障礙，而他只不過是想盡量讓兒子過上更好的生活（或者只是在公園過上美好的一天）而已。

你能想象得到還有比照顧一個(gè)命不久存的幼兒更艱難的事嗎？想看這個(gè)關(guān)于耐性和堅(jiān)持（甚至是在最徒勞無獲的情況下）的揪心故事，請(qǐng)讀《“龍媽媽”的哀歌》一文。（提醒一下：請(qǐng)備好紙巾。）

哇！為人父母看起來太嚇人了。無數(shù)的恐懼（此刻）潛藏于我心，但有一天，我將會(huì)張開眼睛，敞開心扉，加入到為人父母之列，準(zhǔn)備迎接即將到來的一切歡樂與心傷。