How We Do It

People tell me all the time

"I don't know how you do it."

And tonight, as I sit with my daughter on a hotel bed, exhausted and about to head to the show, and then head out for an all night drive, I figured out how I'll answer them.

"You just do it. When you're tired and your emotionally and physically have nothing left, you don't shut down. You keep going because you have to. Because you have a small human being who is depending on you to be there. To be present and loving and thoughtful and responsible and responsive. And when you can catch your breath or catch a break, you do. But sometimes these breaks don't come exactly when you need. And so, even when you've got nothing left, you step up.

Soon enough you'll get a good nights sleep, or a couple of hours alone, or a night out with your partner, and you'll get back to right. But until then, you do your best with what you're feeling."

What we're doing isn't so different than what all parents do. It's no more or less difficult. It requires the same presence of mind and stamina that caring for kids requires. We just have longer drives.

(Afterthought: I wrote most of this last night, after Dave and I had spent the majority of dinner staring at each other across the table, apologizing to each other for our respective empty tanks.
When we walked out on stage a couple of hours later, we were greeted with such thunderous enthusiasm, that we actually both got huge energy spikes. The show ended up being more fun than I've had in a while on a Monday night. After the show we actually felt rejuvenated. You never know where or when you'll get back to right.)




-- Post From My iPhone