This past Sunday our Pastor shared a story of the time his wife went out of town for the week, and it was him and his four kids. He admitted he didn’t handle it very well, was calling screaming for help, and couldn’t wait for his wife to come back home.

(This post has not been edited for errors yet, as I just needed to share this. Please forgive any errors)

Just a couple weeks ago, I received some advice from Michael Hyatt about sharing more of my struggles as a husband, as a father, and as a family leader. He was advising I share my passion, and what drives me to try to help men lead and love their families better. What happened yesterday is an example of this.

Mama said, “There’ll be days like this.”

Well, much like the story my Pastor shared, I’ve had many days like this. One of those days when you just feel overwhelmed as a dad, and like you just aren’t cutting it. Yesterday was that day for me. I was motivated and had great intentions, but the day ended with me overwhelmed and my kids hungry, on my watch!

My day started with going to bed at 1am Tuesday morning only to wake up by 5am to start what turned out to be a very long , taxing, and unproductive day. Here is my timeline yesterday.

• 1am – go to bed
• 5am – get out of bed
• 6am-8am – get dressed and pack up our family for our homeschooling group day
• 8am-8:30am – drive to the church where our homeschooling group meets
• 8:30am-8:40am – make a run to the gas station to pick up something for my wife
• 8:40am-9:30am – help set up for the homeschooling day, take photos, and watch my daughter’s opening ceremony presentation
• 9:30am-10am – drive back home to get the checkbook for my wife so she could pay the tutors
• 10am-11:50am – attempt to write, edit, and submit 5 overdue articles plus revise 5 blog posts for a client (I still had two articles to write and one to edit when I had to leave again)
• 11:50am-12:20pm – drive back to the church to be with my kids and wife for our homeschooling end of year pizza party (was supposed to start at noon, which is why I didn’t finish my writing and editing)
• 12:20pm-1:15pm – wait for the pizza man who was supposed to be there at noon, but was over an hour late (had I known he was going to be an hour late I would have been able to finish my writing then come to the party at 1pm)
• 1:15pm-1:45pm – eat lunch with my kids, while getting bombarded with emails needing my attention
• 1:45pm-2:00pm – drive to the library to finish my writing
• 2pm-3pm – finish my writing and respond to the emails I needed to address
• 3pm-4pm – watch a webinar intended to help me with the products (marriage web show, book, and curriculum) I’m currently working on
• 4pm-4:15pm – pick up mail from our business mail box
• 4:15pm-4:30pm – drive back to the church to help clean up and pack up the cars from our homeschooling day
• 4:30pm-5:15pm – take my boys to Walmart so they could buy a toy (with their money) because I had promised them I’d take them
• 5:15pm-6:15pm – let my boys select their toys, try out bikes, and help one of them decide between a Captain American shield and a Lego Batman Wii game, while the other decided between a Batman toy and Super Mario Bros Wii game (Cap and Mario won FYI)
• 6:15pm-6:30pm – drive to the used sports equipment store to find some baseball cleats for my oldest son
• 6:30pm-7pm – try on 5-7 cleats (none of them fit well enough or were in good enough condition to purchase)
• 7pm-7:30pm – drive home
• 7:30pm-7:45pm – unpack the car and carry my sleeping son inside
• 7:45pm-8:30pm – watch Netflix with my oldest, while eating cold pizza
• 8:30pm-8:45pm – talk to my wife while dozing off a little
• 8:45pm (or so) – pass clean out from exhaustion!
• 11pm (or so) – wake up to my boys begging my wife for something to eat (she and our daughter had just arrived home from play rehearsal and a meeting – thankfully she fed them)
• after 11pm – passed right back out!

So first, thank goodness my wife fed them. Second, did you notice I only got about 2-3 hours worth of work done (very unproductive!)? Sometimes being a husband and dad can be overwhelming, and we need help!

What doesn’t kill you will make you a better dad

I don’t doubt there are many dads, and moms, out there who can relate. I needed encouragement yesterday, so let me be the first to encourage you today. When you face days, or even weeks, like this, keep in mind there are others pushing through as well. Just don’t quit, do your best, and always strive to lead and love your family the best you can.

If you’ve had a similar experience, please share how you handled it? Please share in the comment section below.

photo credit: megansquire via photopin cc