Your kids can drive you nuts. They’re crazy. They’re struggling. They can be ungrateful. They can test and frustrate you like nothing else. But before you complain or despair…

There’s an expression attributed to Mark Twain, usually popular with wise old-timers in places with unpredictable climate, that goes like this: “Don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes.” They’ve been around long enough to know how fast things shift, how surprised you can be. 

Kids are like that too. Just when you’ve had enough. Just when you think maybe you’ve screwed them up beyond repair. Just when you’re about to lose your temper. That’s when they get you. They roll over and before they fall asleep, they say something like, “You fill up my heart, Daddy. I love you so much.” Or without a word they break the popsicle they’ve been screaming for in half and give it to their sister. Or they show you a paper they wrote for school and it’s better than you could possibly imagine. Or they repeat, as Jack Harbaugh’s sons did, some lesson you gave them twenty years ago and thought they blew off. 

So when things get hard, when you are having those doubts, just wait. Five minutes. Five days. Who knows. Something is coming. Something that will melt your heart. Something that will blow your mind and restore your faith. 

It’s coming. You just have to wait for it.

P.S. This was originally sent on May 24, 2021. Sign up today for the Daily Dad’s email and get our popular 11 page eBook, “20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday.”