I almost don't want to ask anymore

You pull into the driveway.

Before you even turn off the car...

you see them.

The trash cans.

Still sitting at the curb.

You don't get out.

Because you already know what comes next.

You'll walk inside.

You'll ask, "Hey, what happened with the trash cans?"

They'll say,

"Oh, I forgot."

Or,

"I was just about to do it."

Or maybe,

"I'll get them."

And somehow you'll still end up feeling like if you hadn't noticed... nobody would have.

So you sit there for another few seconds.

Maybe they'll see them when they come outside.

Maybe they'll remember on their own.

Maybe you just don't want to have another conversation that starts with you pointing out something that didn't get done.

After enough days like this, you start noticing something.

And then you start seeing it everywhere.

The laundry.

The dishes.

Sleeping until noon.

The screen time.

The thing you asked about yesterday that somehow still hasn't happened.

It's not that any one conversation feels impossible.

It's that you're tired of feeling like everything depends on you noticing it first.

And after enough days like this, you catch yourself thinking something you never expected:

I almost don't want to ask anymore.

Not because it doesn't matter.

Because you're tired of feeling like if you don't bring it up... it doesn't happen.

If you've had one of those moments this summer, please don't assume something's wrong with you.

Most thoughtful parents eventually find themselves here.

You still care just as much.

You're just tired.

🧡 Jeanine

Tell me—what's the one thing you've reminded your teenager about three times already this week?