Dear Younger Fred… you can't control chaos — but you can choose presence...
Right now, a lot of people around you are navigating chaos...
Career transitions.
Family pressures.
Health scares.
Financial uncertainty.
Responsibilities piling higher than expected.
Yes… even welcoming a new child into the world!
And when life feels unstable… your instinct — just like theirs — will be the same:
Control what you can.
That's exactly what you'll do in the first week after Briar Rose arrives.
You'll be off work — stepping away from the structure you've always known at the office —
and suddenly you'll try to recreate order everywhere else.
Unload the dishes.
Keep up with laundry.
Make sure the house looks presentable.
Track water intake for Madelaine.
Medication timing.
House logistics.
Schedules.
You'll convince yourself you're doing the right thing —
being responsible… productive… helpful.
But here's what you'll discover. Movement does not always equate to achievement.
There is always another task.
Another mess.
Another thing to organize.
It never ends.
And if you keep focusing on the trivial…
you'll miss the meaningful.
That's exactly what happened in the last two weeks...
You sat down with Madelaine and talked about it —
how trying to control everything pulled you out of the moment…
how it distracted you from the connection unfolding right in front of you…
the quiet bonding, the shared exhaustion,
the laughter of Matthias,
the tiny moments that never come back.
And that conversation was needed!
You realized this lesson isn't just about parenthood —
it's about life.
Because so many people right now are drowning in to-do lists,
trying to regain control through productivity.
But control isn't where fulfillment lives.
Presence is.
So here's what I hope you remember, Fred:
A clean house won't be what you recall years from now.
Perfectly managed logistics won't define your memories.
But the moments you were fully there —
those will stay.
So step back.
Let some things be messy.
Let the dishes wait.
Let the schedule flex.
Choose connection over control. Well then, I’m signing off the computer to get back to the family (before Briar and Matthias wakes up from their naps) 😊.
Baaaaam — that's it for today.
See you next Thursday.
Stay curious,
Fred
