Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast, where we provide one lesson every single day to help you with your most important job, being a parent.

I'm Ryan Holiday, and I draw these lessons from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, practical wisdom, and insights from

parents just like you all over the world. Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

No one can take that you had them. We talked about the inherently painful nature of having kids

before. As our kids grow, we are constantly losing them. We'll never have our son as a two-year-old

again. We'll never have our daughter's first day of high school again. We know from the moment we

take them home from the hospital that eventually they'll leave our

home for their own. Above this daily loss looms the specter of real tragic loss as well, the kind

that Johnny Gunther's parents experienced, the kind that Marcus Aurelius experienced, the kind that

keeps us up at night. What if something happens to them? We worry.

We fear. We are filled with dread. And in the end, in the end, it doesn't change the fact that

something can and figuratively will take our kids from us. This is the inevitable, unconsolable reality

of what it means to be a parent. But here is some solace that we must

never forget. Nothing and no one can ever take from us, the fact that we had them. The memory is

yours forever. The hours and the days and the years you've had are yours forever. Every time you've

kissed them, held them, told them, you've loved them. Every giggle you've heard and the years you've had are yours forever. Every time you've kissed them,

held them, told them, you've loved them. Every giggle you've heard, every smile you've prompted

every high five, every afternoon on the couch. That is insoluble, unstealable, invincible. No one can

ever touch it, can ever take it. Nothing can ever happen to it. You had them. You had those moments, those

experiences all that time. They're yours forever. The same goes for the present moment and any

memories you're lucky enough to make right now. They are your personal private bounty. Treat them accordingly.

Hey, thanks for listening to the Daily Dad podcast. You can get this via email every day as well

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