It’s 3am.
Your baby’s cries are piercing, and you’re thinking, why won’t this baby just stop crying and go back to sleep?
You’re exhausted, irritated, and already running on empty.

Later that morning, your toddler refuses, again, to put on their clothes for school.
You just want to get going so you can start on everything else you have to do today.
You feel impatient, behind, and frustrated with yourself for feeling this way.

Your partner is overwhelmed and worried.
You try to stay calm, offer reassurance, come up with a plan.
Instead of helping, it seems to make things worse.
You’re confused, tense, and unsure what you’re missing.

You’ve been a parent for a while now.
You’re used to putting everyone else’s needs first.
Somewhere along the way, you lost touch with the energy, creativity, or ease you used to have.
You feel unfulfilled, disconnected, and not quite like yourself.

You didn’t think it would be this hard.

To get through it all, you do what you can.
You check out when things feel like too much.
You spend more time scrolling on your phone because it’s the only quiet you get.
You stay busy, solve problems, and push your feelings aside so you can keep functioning.

None of this means you’re failing.
These are ways you’ve learned to cope when there hasn’t been much room for you.

But over time, the stress builds.
The irritability, distance, and exhaustion start to feel like a constant background noise.
And you may find yourself wondering, Is this just how it’s going to be?

In keeping with that notion, I show up as my authentic self to my work, knowing that genuine connection is the basis for truly helping another. I’m compassionate, warm, open-minded, curious, and I lean toward seeing the strengths and inherent goodness in people. In my personal life, I take care of myself through meditation, reading, playing sports, and spending time in nature with my wife, daughter, son, and community.