It was overwhelming. It was exhausting. There was never a break. You had them for every second. Your kids had every second and every inch of you.

They were in your space. They were in your business. They needed something. They wanted something. Crawling over you, reaching for you, until you felt completely touched out. They wouldn’t even give you a break at night—at 3:40am, they needed and wanted you.

And as exhausting and overwhelming as this was, you got used to it. So used to it, in fact, that one day it just hits you: You don’t see them for hours a day now. Like, you drop them off in the morning at school and don’t see them until night time? What is this? When did it happen?

But it did happen. It does happen. Even if you are a stay-at-home parent, even if you retire, even if you homeschool. Because their own life is gathering up speed, their own interests and obligations are on a collision course with yours. And this development is continuing and continuing forever in one heartbreaking direction. Soon enough, they’ll move out. Soon enough, they’ll move away. Soon enough, they’ll have their own family and the same cycle will happen again.

So while you do see and have them—while they have you—enjoy it.

Hey, Ryan here…I’m hitting the road this summer and fall, talking Stoicism all over the world. You can grab tickets to see me in San Francisco or Portland, then a bunch of other cities across the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

I’d love for you to join me. We’ll do a deep dive into the four Stoic virtues of courage, discipline, justice, and wisdom, and how we can apply these to the real situations we face as people—and parents—day to day.

For details and tickets, go to dailystoiclive.com. I’ll see you out there.