This article is going to be short and sweet. I am writing it from my daughter’s hospital room. She’s sick, not deathly ill, but enough to have been admitted to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. I am hoping her stay is only a few days long.

Here’s the reality of where I’m at now. As a professional, and a dad, and a husband, and an entrepreneur, moments like these pull me in so many directions. I am responsible to my family first, but close behind are my business partners, my team, and my clients.

On a normal day, I walk what feels like a tightrope.

I’m constantly trying to balance it all and give everything the attention it deserves and requires. Some moments are spent in perfect balance, and some feel more like I’m hanging on by my fingertips, or on the verge of falling.

Why would I take the time to write a blog in the middle of this? I know I’m not alone. As professionals with kids, this experience is common. Feeling pulled in different, often opposing directions, is normal. It’s not just kids either. Sometimes it involves caring for aging parents, sometimes the dog is sick, sometimes there their is an emergency furnace repair at home. Regardless, trying to navigate the day-to-day can be a challenge.

I don’t have any sage advice for how to manage this. There’s no solution in this article, just a message that if you’re reading this thinking that sounds like me, you’re not alone. I felt like it was important to stop quick in this moment and put that out there so it doesn’t get buried or lost.

And now, it’s time to return to rubbing my daughter’s back.