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.

Think about how it feels to them. To you, it's twinged with a little bit of dread or exhaustion or obligation,

or you just plain take it for granted because you're tired because it's your day-to-day reality,

because you're just trying to survive, because it's really hard, because you're not thinking

about what it would be like to not have these things or to not get to do these things. In Morgan Wade's haunting and

beautiful song, Hardwood Floor, she was actually on the Daily Stoic podcast a year or so ago. Great

interview. I'll link to that. Anyways, in the song, she sings from the perspective of someone trying to

have a baby. She feels sick seeing the baby aisle at the store. It hurts her to see her nieces and nephews.

She dreams of having to quietly close a nursery door, the one you grouchly lectured your spouse for

not doing quietly enough. She wishes that she could hear the little feet on the hardwood floor,

the same feet that perhaps just recently you were frustrated to hear

because they were supposed to be in bed. It's easy to forget how many people would love to be

in your position who are dreaming of the opportunity to have what can so often feel like a burden

or a struggle. Those people going through IVF, those people grieving, those people whose kids have

moved out, they wish they had what you have. They wish they could deal with the mundanity,

the responsibilities, even the fatigue. They wish they could hear those little feet on the

hardwood floor. Remember this. Take a breath and think about it when you're getting frustrated at your kids

during bedtime or when they're interrupting a conversation because they need attention. Think about how

lucky you actually are about how fleeting this beautiful time is, about how some people wish to be

parents but never will be or trying very hard to make that happen. Be present and think about what you have.

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