It’s been tough. It’s taken its toll on us and on our kids. We feel bad for them, for ourselves—that they have to deal with this, that we have to deal with it.
The parent-teacher conferences. The doctor visits. The appointments with specialists. Sleepless nights. Arguments with our spouse. Stressing about how we’re going to afford it all. Worrying we’re not going to be able to get our kids what they need.
But then, you talk with another parent and you realize, man, I got off easy.
Bert Kreischer (check out our recent conversation on the Daily Stoic podcast) once talked about thinking he had it bad because his daughter had dyslexia. Then another parent opened up about what their child was going through—something even heavier, even harder. It was from this that he said he’d learned, “When you’re a parent, everybody’s got their uphill. Some people’s uphill is worse than other people’s uphill, but everyone’s uphill is an uphill.”
This is important to remember. Every family has an uphill they’re climbing, even as we’re climbing our own. Be patient and extend grace to yourself and your family, as well as the others on their own difficult paths.
