I too agree that being a parent is the most joyful, frustrating, exciting, tiring, soul rewarding, painful experiences there is.
I guess from that list you get my drift.
It's hard! Someone said to me many years ago that it doesn't get easier it just changes and I remember thinking how very negative they were and how depressing that thought!

Now from many years further down the track I realise just how right they were!

I found the early years very easy. Yes of course there were problems and stresses, that was to be expected, but as the little dears got older particularly middle teens- nightmare alley here we are!
The one thing I can say now is that if you do enough work in the early years you just need a large measure of fingers crossed and gulping in the teens and hopefully when they get past about mid 20 or so you start to see that maybe you didn't get it all wrong after all!
You won't of course get any credit for your efforts so if you imagine otherwise let me disabuse you of that notion double quick!

I find that their successes are their own efforts and their difficulties are down to you and your earlier years of parenting.
The point is, I can remember feeling the same!!
That's what gets me through, quite often.
And now I do find that 'outsiders' who have the chance to get to know my beautiful, loving , awesome offspring do now congratulate me on doing a good job! Then it is nice to accept that little glow of praise and feel your efforts may, after all have been worthwhile.
Especially, if like me, in the earlier years my other half was off all over the world 'working' (yes I saw the photos taken in the nightclub in Cairo!) and then followed divorce so I reckon I pretty much did it all by myself. Following on from the core idea in azana's review, I will now proceed to pat myself on the back, accept that NO ONE is perfect and gets it ALL right and what I achieved was, using counselling terms, 'good enough'.
So all those parents out there, single or not, value your good intent, accept you won't get it right all the time and always ALWAYS enjoy the experience. They're gone to their own lives way too quickly.