Life Lesson From Parenting: Lead With ‘Showing Up’

A few weeks ago, my 3-year-old daughter had preventative hip surgery.

Watching your child go through that isn’t easy, as you can imagine. As a parent, you desperately want to fix it and alleviate the pain, discomfort, and circumstances. But sometimes, we are forced to watch.

And it’s in this kind of moment you realize something:

Parenting is about showing up.

I think too often, we believe that parenting, life, work, or whatever is about having something profound to say that will make any situation better.

Not really. Life is about showing up: in the good days and bad days. And nothing says ‘love’ like always showing up, no matter what.

My daughter has moments she’s frustrated and upset, and even times when ‘daddy’ is the last person she wants to see right now.

That’s not easy when it’s the opposite of her usual nature. It’s not easy to sometimes have to be the ‘bad guy’ or the one who disciplines a teenager. But it’s part of the job and the best job in the world!

Parenting has taught me to lead my life by ‘showing up.’

Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog