Have I failed as a parent?

I am fascinated by how the sense of smell is so connected to memory. Lately it seems my olfactory system has been particularly nostalgic. Whether it be a whiff of air from the swampy retention pond nearby that reminds me of summers at the lake, or a particular Walgreen’s selection of perfume that makes me reminisce about grandparents – it just seems to be happening a lot. Recently I had another trip down smelly memory lane, but it wasn’t joyous or heart-warming. Due to all the recent precipitation here in the Midwest rain forest, people seem to be cutting the grass almost daily. Fresh cut grass is one of those distinct odors and always takes me back to cutting the lawn as a kid, or making money as a fresh faced lad. This lead to a very sad realization that since we moved into our townhouse with kids of a fairly young age, and we have no immediate plans to relocate, my children may well go off to college having never cut a single blade of grass. Never have my insecurities of parental inadequacy been larger – how is this possible? What kind of life are they headed for without the subjugation of sod sustainment? How will they navigate the cruel world, never having stained their favorite pair of tennis shoes green? Could they possibly consider the cruelty of life and death without decapitating helpless amphibians with the family mower? Physically, do they have the stamina to run the race of life without the training cultivated by hundreds of miles traveled across the dusty terrain in the summer sun? But seriously, what kind of kid never has to cut the grass? I have failed as a parent!