Today I’m walking down this path to one of the most beautiful beaches that is 20 minutes from my house.
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In my head I was LITERALLY saying to myself as I trailed my family and an extra friend “how lucky am I that I get to come here and also work on a random Friday.”

I shouted to my husband ahead, “They have WiFi here right?”
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To which my newly 12 year old eldest son snaps,
​“You’re always working this summer.”

Gut punch.

My immediate reaction?
I snapped back. (“gentle parenting” can kindly F off.)

“What are you even talking about?! You have no idea what it means to have parents who ALWAYS work. Did you forget about the one month we’ve been on the road?? I’ve been with you guys all summer.”

Because in my head, I’m thinking:

I’m not like my parents’ generation who disappeared behind office doors until 7pm. MAYBE you see them before bed.

I work from home.
I can take work anywhere.
I was at the park all day with you guys yesterday.
We’ve been together for LITERALLY MONTHS, but but but but BUTTTTT…….
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​Why did this trigger you Patrice…I whispered to myself.
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​Simmering tension ensues as I now angrily stomp on this gorgeous beach to get chairs.

My husband says to me, “You need to talk to him!!”

Me: DON’T tell me what I need to do. Also YOU work all the time too.
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​Why did this trigger you Patrice​
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Next thing I know… I’m yelling, the nice NORMAL family in front of us are getting out their popcorn and now my youngest is doing his “going to crap in my pants any minute” dance.
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And now my eldest is saying to my husband, “you BOTH work all the time” and he starts to cry because it’s all so intense.
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I kid you not. This happened in a 9 minute span of that walk….
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My husband is REALLY good at being calm and he NEEDS to resolve immediately.
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I tend to ruminate in my brain a bit as the neurons are firing on all the levels and I’m having 5 conversations with myself while reminding me I am the parent and I need to be mature.

While trying not to get annoyed at my husband for his ability to remain the picture of cool, calm and GENTLE PARENTING POSTER CHILD.

My son storms off with his brothers and friend and my husband chases him and says, “we are talking about this NOW.”
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​**family in front is now fully not even hiding. They are HERE FOR THIS WATCH PARTY and I do not blame them. Like do we bow soon?​
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I calmed down. My husband asks all the right questions to our son and then I asked my son what he REALLY meant.

And then I go on to tell him about the 90s!!! When kids never saw their parents unless they LITERALLY didn’t work outside the home.

But as I was yammering I realized: Perception is reality. UGH isn’t it just always right?

Even if it doesn’t match MY perception of how present I’ve been, HIS perception is that I’ve been working all summer.

And you know what?
He’s not wrong.

I’ve been on my laptop a lot while they play on the beach. I’ve been answering emails in the car during our road trips in the English countryside. Leading team meetings huddled in an airbnb while my family is out and about.

I’ve been “present” physically but mentally somewhere else a lot this summer.
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Running two separate businesses is really hard.
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Even though they are really all stemming from the same place -to help people tell more emotional stories in business in order to get what they want.
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​My StoryPro growth is a full time job. So are my storytelling services.

I’m getting asked to speak now (which I am ecstatic about) but preparing keynotes and custom trainings is now on my very full “TO DO” list.
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​Being on my computer while they play on a beach is not the same as playing on the beach.
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​Now, I suspect part of his outburst came from frustration about something else entirely.
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I’d just told my 9-year-old that an AI teacher was going to meet him for an entrepreneur class he’s technically too young for. But I could get him in if his older brother came too. I saw my oldest roll his eyes when I said I was signing them both up.

Family dynamics are complicated right?
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​My middle son who is 9 is a born entrepreneur – lemonade stands (I used to ROLL MY EYES at EVERY current founder’s “lemonade stand story” but I am living it with my son so I take it all back), working at our front kiosk all summer, dying to learn AI, made me open a Revolut account for him so he can play a bit with crypto. You cannot make this up.

“PLAY WITH CRYPTO?!!? I sputtered at him a few days ago.”
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My oldest just wants to play sports and be a kid.
And maybe he thinks I favor the entrepreneurial spirit in my middle?

Maybe he said something he knew would hurt because he felt like I was TRYING to make him something he’s not?
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​Am I doing this Patrice?​
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When he was crying I felt like that energy was coming from another place….

But regardless of the why, I needed to take his accusation seriously.

We’re all doing the best we can. We all love our kids deeply. The reason I work so hard (and yes, a lot) IS for them. I know I am no different than all the other parents (you) who ALSO feel this.

But good intentions don’t change their experience.

The “work from anywhere” life I do think is such a gift but could actually be making it harder to be fully present. Because when work can happen anywhere, it happens everywhere.

So here’s what I’m doing right now:

I’m shutting this laptop. I cancelled two meetings I had this afternoon. I’m going to play with my kids on this ridiculously beautiful beach. I’m going to be where my feet are.

And later, when we’re all calm, we’ll talk.
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​About what “always working” means to him. About how I can do this better. About finding the balance between building something meaningful and being present for his moments.
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And I”m going to address the elephant in the room.
Was his outburst about this AI fall class?
I will tell him he doesn’t have to take it and I’ll just try and get his brother into it.

I had a totally different newsletter planned for today but I can’t write it as this is so on my mind.
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Maybe this is TMI, but this is real life. I bring you along for the high moments – figured I should bring you into the hard ones too.

Going to play now.
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And if you’re curious I did vomit all of my thoughts and frustrations to Pocket Patrice first before I drafted this email…..as my original draft read like a trashy family beach novel.
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If you tend to be an over-sharer, and verbose like.. Um… YOURS TRULY, you will love My StoryPro to give you the tough love straight. If you sign up you can come to our 1st office hours of every month that is happening next Thursday. Bring all your questions and storytelling asks.

Have a fabulous holiday weekend. I hope it involves the beach and NO FAMILY DRAMA!!!!

XO,
Patrice