Hey, Ready To Dad Crew!

Summer really shows how present we are with our kids.

During the school year, the schedule carries you. Drop-off at 8. Pickup at 5. Dinner at 7. The rhythm does a lot of the work.

Summer disrupts the usual routine, leaving us with free time and kids who want to spend it with you. The real question is whether we can be there for them.

This week, we’re talking about what it means to be genuinely present when there is nowhere else you have to be.

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Unstructured time with our kids sounds like a gift until you’re in it and realize how hard it is to actually land.

My wife and I intentionally cleared Saturday by moving the swim class to a weekday. Saturday morning. Nothing on the calendar. My two-year-old came into the living room with a book. Handed it to me without a word. I read it. She went and got another. Then another. Then another. By the time I registered what was happening, there were seven books in a stack between us.

She wasn’t just picking books. She was picking me; she was seeing whether Dad would stay.

I had a mental list running. A few things I wanted to knock out before noon. The kind of things that feel important until they aren’t.

I put the list down. We read most of the books and some of them more than once.

What I keep learning is that being present isn’t something we finish. It’s a choice we make, often when something else is trying to get our attention.

Summer gives us more of those moments. More open mornings. Nothing more planned. More chances for our kids to walk over and test the door.

The question isn’t whether they’ll show up asking for us. They will!

The question is whether we’ll be ready when they do.

Your to-do list will still be there. This moment with our children won’t last.

Being present doesn’t mean you have no distractions. It means you choose to focus on your kids, even when other things are on your mind.

A dad I coach told me that summer makes him feel like he’s constantly falling short. His kids always want more of him than he can give in that moment. More playtime. More energy. More attention. He said he feels guilty almost all day.

I asked him: What would it look like to be enough?

He couldn’t answer right away. Because he hadn’t defined it. He was measuring himself against a moving target that no one actually set.

Being enough is something you decide, not only something you feel. Figure out what you can honestly give today, give it, and let the rest go.

If that sounds familiar, reply to this email. That is exactly what coaching is for.

Reply directly to this email with your question, or use this quick form to submit anonymously. Whether it’s about family routines, connecting with your kids, or managing stress, I’m here to help!

Let’s tackle parenting together, one question at a time!

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