It’s a Wednesday afternoon in July. Parenting chaos is in full force. Daycares are jam-packed. I’m in the middle of presenting a hastily assembled PowerPoint on upcoming Medicaid legislation when my phone starts to vibrate. The dreaded mid-afternoon daycare call. I mute myself, shoot off a “BRB, daycare calling” message, and step into the hallway. That scratch in my throat I’ve been ignoring catches as I answer the phone, bracing for the inevitable.
Twenty minutes later, I’m driving Delaney home — in an outfit she wasn’t wearing this morning — casting desperate glances at the rearview mirror, willing her not to vomit. Somehow, by the grace of God or sheer maternal willpower, we make it home without incident. But this isn’t a unique story — it’s just another chapter in the recurring saga of working parenthood.
The rest of the evening unfolds like a script I know too well: strip her down, clean her up, call the pediatrician, rush to a sick visit, wait an eternity while nervously checking Teams messages, keep a puke bag within arm’s reach, restrain her gently but firmly for a throat swab, then wait some more. A positive strep test later, I’m handed a prescription and a heavy dose of reality: another PTO-draining, productivity-sinking long weekend in which I’ll pretend I can simultaneously care for a sick toddler and keep up with work.
By 4:30 p.m., as I pull into the driveway with my flushed, clammy daughter asleep in the backseat and a paper bag of antibiotics on the passenger seat, I get a ping from my managing director:
“You there?”
Those two words feel like a gut punch. I choke back tears as I carry Delaney to her room, tucking her in and gently smoothing the sweat-damp curls from her forehead.
For those of you parenting young children in daycare, I hope this all-too-familiar scene brought a wry smile. Sometimes, humor is the only tool we have to climb out of the chaos without completely breaking down.
The truth is, the modern working parent — especially in two-income households — is stretched in ways that previous generations were not. According to the American Psychological Association, nearly 66% of parents report burnout, citing constant fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and lack of support as key contributors.¹
In dual-career households, it’s not just the logistics that suffer — it’s the relationships. The Gottman Institute reports that 67% of couples experience a decline in relationship satisfaction during the first three years of parenthood.² Add to that the rising cost of childcare (averaging $11,000–$15,000 per year, per child³), limited paid family leave, and the fact that many Millennials live far from extended family, and you have a pressure cooker scenario with no clear release valve.
My husband and I — both type B, generally low-drama people — still find ourselves overwhelmed, short-tempered, and disconnected more often than we’d like to admit. We’re trying to cherish these early years, but the margin for error is so slim that it often feels like we’re surviving more than living.
So what do we do — those of us in the thick of it, navigating sick days, deadlines, pediatrician visits, and performance reviews all in the same breath?
We can’t afford to wait for sweeping policy reform to fix the system. What we can do is build life rafts — small, intentional practices that protect our mental health and relationships while we tread water.
To every parent out there trying to be everything to everyone — I see you. You are not failing. You are navigating an unsustainable system with strength, creativity, and a little bit of dark humor. Let’s keep helping each other stay afloat, one messy, miraculous day at a time.
¹ American Psychological Association, Stress in America™ 2022: Parents and Caregivers
² The Gottman Institute, Transition to Parenthood Research Findings
³ Child Care Aware of America, The US and the High Cost of Child Care Report
Eden Taylor is a graduate-level intern at Stanford Couples Counseling. Appointments with Eden are available virtually or in our Uptown Dallas office.
Reigniting the Spark: Small Shifts That Build Big Intimacy These days, it’s not just the usual busyness that strains relationships—many couples are also carrying the weight of extraordinary stress and uncertainty. Ongoing sociopolitical unrest, climate …
7 Powerful Strategies for High-Conflict Couples Every couple argues. But for some, conflict becomes a constant pattern — a familiar but exhausting cycle of blame, reactivity, and disconnection. These high-conflict relationships can feel like emotional …