The Five Roommates Theory.

This is my theory about children. I'm a teacher, but not a parent, so take it with however many grains of salt you want, and if you are on a low-sodium diet you may want to skip this bit altogether, but here it is: Having a child is like taking on 5 roommates. The first roommate is a midget. The second roommate is perpetually broke. Third roommate has amnesia. The fourth roommate is slightly retarded. The fifth roommate is a temperamental genius. Oh, and there is a sixth roommate- he is a track star. These roommates are just like adults but they are all illiterate, and you have to learn how to live peacefully with them. Then as the kid grows up, the handicapped roommates gradually move out and fully-abled roommates move in. That's my Montessori-teacher's theory of kids. (The Montessori institute does not support this message!)