Dr. Randy Cale’s Terriffic Parenting: Waiting for the next finish line

August 23, 2026 - 19:33

Most of us have become remarkably skilled at postponing our lives. We tell ourselves that happiness, peace, or even just a moment of rest will arrive once we cross a certain threshold. The school year ends, and we think we can breathe. Then comes the summer camp schedule, the family vacation, or the start of a new sports season. After that, it is the next report card, the next recital, or the next college application. We keep our eyes fixed on a distant point on the horizon, convinced that our real life begins just past it.

But here is the problem. For many parents, that finish line never actually stops moving. As soon as we reach one, we immediately spot another one a little further ahead. We train ourselves to live in a state of constant anticipation, and we teach our children to do the same. We praise them for looking ahead, for planning, for sacrificing today for a better tomorrow. And while that mindset has its place, it becomes toxic when it steals the present.

The real cost is not just our own exhaustion. It is the quiet loss of ordinary moments. We miss the silly joke at the dinner table because we are already thinking about tomorrow's test. We rush through bedtime stories because we need to prepare for the morning meeting. We are physically present but mentally somewhere else, always waiting for the next thing to be done so we can finally start living.

Dr. Randy Cale's message is a simple but powerful reminder. The finish line you are waiting for is not real. The only moment you actually have is the one happening right now, with your kids as they are today, not as they will be after they grow up, graduate, or move out. Parenting does not begin after the laundry is folded or the homework is checked. It is happening in the middle of all that mess.

So the next time you catch yourself saying, "Once this week is over," or "After the holidays, we will relax," stop. Ask yourself what you are postponing. Is it a conversation? A walk? Just sitting on the floor and playing? You do not need to wait for a clear calendar to be a good parent. You just need to show up for the moment that is already here. The finish line will always be there. Your child's childhood will not.