The author is so proud of all her children, but realizes she wasn't telling them. Courtesy of the author I often praised my children to others instead of to them directly. My upbringing made it hard for me to express encouragement openly. A painful conversation with my son changed how I parent adult kids. Several years ago, while driving behind a car with a "my-child-is-an-honor-student" bumper sticker, I said to my oldest son, sitting in the passenger seat, "I always wanted one of those." He,