When You Miss Your Kids… and Then They Drive You Crazy (and Why That’s Okay)

It’s funny how parenting plays with your heart.
When the house is quiet and the kids are away, maybe staying with their grandparents or having a sleepover. You suddenly notice how still everything feels. You scroll through your phone and find photos of them, laugh at their silly faces, and think, “I can’t wait to see them again.”

And then, a few hours after they’re back home, the chaos resumes. Toys everywhere, loud voices, endless “Mom/Dad, look!”, and part of you wonders why you ever missed the noise in the first place.

The same thing happens at work. You’re in the middle of your day, answering calls, solving problems, doing what you have to do, and suddenly, your mind drifts. You picture your kids at home, maybe playing or napping, and you wish you could just pause everything for a quick hug. But then, when you finally get home and they’re bouncing off the walls, that longing meets reality — and you’re exhausted, torn between wanting connection and needing a little quiet.

The truth is, you can love your kids fiercely and still crave space. You can miss them all day and still feel irritated when they won’t stop shouting your name. It’s not contradiction, it’s balance. It’s what love looks like in real life: messy, loud, and full of constant shifts.

So the next time you find yourself missing them while working or feeling overwhelmed when you’re together, just remember that’s the normal heartbeat of parenthood. You’re doing it right, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

May we find peace in the noise, grace in the chaos, and joy in the ordinary moments that remind us why it’s all worth it.