Need advice from Step Fathers/Fathers please

As the step-father of a High Functioning Autistic young man I agree with everything that I've read here.

My own take on things in case my view or wording puts things in a perspective that works for you:

Re: Not feeling ready. When my sister got pregnant my mom commented to her mom that the timing could be better. Grandmother's response was "kids always come at a bad time, you just deal with it."

Re: Rules for kids. Mom's advice to my sister when my nephew starting act out. "The kid's job is to test the boundaries. The parent's job is to set the boundaries and enforce them." Set them as appropriate, enforce them as appropriate, and most importantly adjust them as appropriate.

Being a parent is OJT, there is no course or class to take, though the section at the local bookstore begs to say different. I'll venture no parent out there feels 100% about the job that they've done or are doing in raising kids. Keep your eye on the big picture and don't sweat the small stuff too much. This isn't a road race where you can plot an exact course and expect to be always on it within an inch. This piloting a sailboat where the waves of life are always pushing you off-course. Just keep herding it back to the course. And don't be too set on the course, sometimes the long way there is the best course to take, and you may not know that until after you've started.