(This piece first appeared on LinkedIn here as part of The Human Margin — a reflective series by Emi Linds on work, growth, and meaning in the age of intelligent machines.)

We talk about resilience in leadership, but we rarely account for the invisible logistics behind it, especially for working parents.

This piece is a recognition of that hidden load. For the ones balancing deliverables and daycare. For the ones holding families and forecasts.

I see you.

As the notifications on your phone light up with breaking news, you try not to worry. A little voice calls out to you. And you pause, torn between the weight of the world and the weight of their small hand in yours. You smile, because that’s what parents do.

I see you.

As you pack lunchboxes late at night, exhausted from long days, still remembering to cut the sandwich just the way they like it. You make mental notes, you’re out of bread, low on milk, greens went soggy, so you’ll make sure to buy local next time. A small act of hope.

I see you.

As you grip the steering wheel, glancing at the gas prices, knowing every extra dollar spent means something else will have to wait. Later, you sit on a foldable chair in a crowded school gym, clapping with one hand, answering work emails with the other. You scroll the headlines, silence the notifications, and swallow the rising fear. How long can you keep the monsters away… not the ones under their bed.

I see you.

You hold it together, not because you choose to, but because you have to. Because they’re watching. You’re their rock, even when you feel like you’re crumbling. You whisper “it’s going to be okay” into their world at night, even when you’re not so sure yourself.

I see you. And I know how hard this is.

Parents throughout history have carried their children through uncertainty and fear. Canadian families built co-ops and shared food against the backdrop of the Great Depression. They held indoor campouts and told stories by candlelight while blackouts shrouded their homes. They did what they could to keep the lights on as recession hit one after another after another. They survived.

And so will we.

Because that’s what parents do.

We push forward, even when we’re exhausted. When every bit of strength has left us, we find more. We carry the weight of those little hands, so they can still have a better childhood than ours. We make the small choices, buying the bread, turning off the news for a while, saying yes to one more bedtime story.

For the sun will rise again tomorrow, and they need us to rise with it. Rise with the hope and effort that their life will be better. This is our battleground, our fight against the forces that would call the future bleak.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we do know this: We will do whatever it takes for our children.

And that is enough.

So, if today feels heavy, if the world feels unsteady, if you are tired down to your bones, know this: You are seen. You are not alone. You are doing the hardest, most important work there is.

You are doing enough.

We will make it through this.

We always have.

Keep going.

“It’s going to be okay.”

💛 With love, From one parent to another.

– Emi Linds

If this spoke to you, please share it with a parent who’s quietly doing what they can right now. Text them. Let them know: They’re not alone either.

#WorkingParents #Leadership #ParentingUnfiltered #YouAreNotAlone

🔗 This piece is part of “The Human Margin”, a series on work, growth, and meaning in the age of intelligent machines.