I often feel as though we go about life as pioneers in some newly discovered Now. We are the inventors of new lifestyles, the conveyors of new currencies, the forgers of new forms of relationships within our families and our careers.
But then I remember my parents as they were in the 1980’s. I honestly grew up thinking the word hectic was a platitude exchanged by adults. “How are things?” the voice on the phone would ask. “Hectic” my mom would inevitably return.
Hectic.
We don’t need to be a commute away from our homes to be “at work” as they did, perhaps. However, the result for our children is the exact same: distance. So let’s be pragmatic about all of this. After all, there will always be bills to pay. Parents need to work and children need to learn about what it takes to provide. We create adults by trading our sanity for the compromise of our ideals.
The best that I’ve been able to do is to pause every now and then, look them in their faces and calmly tell them “I love you.”
Maybe that’s all there is to be done.
