My wife has been out of state this week, taking care of our nieces and nephews. Which means, for a short stretch, I’ve been a single dad.
And the results have been… predictable.
Meals have been bland and sometimes cold cereal.
Mornings have been late and rushed.
And by 8:30 p.m., I’m usually passed out between my two youngest - still in my work clothes.
Being a single parent is rough.
And I’ve only been doing it for a week! With a steady job, stable schedule, and support from my mother-in-law.
In this small window, as always happens when my wife is gone, something shifts in me. A deeper appreciation grows for the parents who carry this load every single day - without the margin, without the help, without the breathing room I take for granted.
They don’t get slow mornings.
They don’t get quiet opportunities for me-time.
They don’t get to put their own needs anywhere near the top of the list.
And I can only imagine how this exhaustion trickles down into the little hearts and minds they love and care for so much. I felt it in my own house. I wasn’t as patient as I wanted to be. I wasn’t as fun as I intended to be. And I was absolutely more underprepared than I needed to be.
This week gave me a great deal of empathy for the single parents in our building and community - and for their children.
For the kid struggling with homework because Mom or Dad simply didn’t have the time or mental capacity to sit with them.
For the little one who didn’t share how their feelings were hurt today, afraid to add too much to Mom or Dad’s already-full plate, and is now trying to handle it alone.
For the mom or dad giving absolutely everything they have and could use even a small moment of grace, applause, or understanding.
I haven’t been at my best since my wife left. Not even close.
But I have been convicted - convicted about empathy toward others, grace toward others, and a desire to understand the actions, reactions, and decisions of others rather than defend against them, argue with them, or - most embarrassingly - smugly judge them.
Sometimes being stretched reminds us how much grace others deserve. And I have not been giving near enough grace to others.
Anyway, that’s what I’ve been thinking about this week. Grace.