This dad’s viral post on parenting during a pandemic is so true it hurts

Father of two, author and Instagram celeb Clint Edwards recently posted a photo of his two children peacefully sleeping together, snuggled with blankets, eye masks and an awesome Super Woman pillow case I need for myself.

The photo captured a moment of quietness in his house. However, in his caption, Edwards describes a pain point many parents stuck working from home—without help thanks to this global pandemic—know too well.

In his viral caption, he writes how his children have seen all sides of him by now—since they are all day long with him at home—and questions whether that is even healthy for them. According to Edwards, they’ve seen him stressed about the possibility of losing his job, depressed about the lack of exposure to the outside world, anxious about the current state of affairs, stressed about what going back to school will look like and even being bored. Despite seeing all his sides, his kids still want his attention and snuggles at the end of the day—an indication, he thinks, of how they love him unconditionally.

The photo has more than 2,500 likes and thousands of comments sharing the same sentiment Edwards so eloquently captured. One of the comments says, “Today during a migraine, my daughter crawled into the recliner with me and played with my hair and said ‘I know it’s hard Moma, but it’ll get better’.” Another mom adds, “Thank you. Took the words straight from my soul. I’m saving this for a reminder in those days that I feel like I’m failing.”

The Instagram post reads:

“By this point in the pandemic I think my children have seen all sides of me. There really is no break from their gaze anymore. And I know, you should be transparent with your children, and I believe that. But do they really need to hear how I sound in a work meeting?

Well… now they have. They’ve also seen me stressed about the possibility of loosing my job. Luckily I didn’t. They’ve seen me depressed because all this staying in doors isn’t good for my mental health. They’ve seen me anxious, and tired, and bored.

They’ve seen their parents fight over chores and bills, and distance education obligations. They seen us anxiously discuss what to do in the fall, send the kids back or keep them home.

They’ve seen me not have all the answers, particularly when it comes to keeping them safe from COVID-19, and they’ve seen me confused as I’ve tried to navigate the contradictory information.

I don’t have my commute to blow off steam anymore. I don’t have the transitions between work and home to change my mood. I don’t have the social outlets I once had, like church and friendly gatherings to vent.

They’ve seen me tired, and frustrated, and happy, and sad, and angry… every emotion in my arsenal right there in front of them

And yet somehow, after witnessing the messy truth that is their father living through a pandemic, they still want my attention and guidance and snuggles before bed. I don’t know exactly what that all means, but if there is a silver lining in this pandemic, it’s the realization that my kids might just love me as much as I love them, and that makes me really feel good about the old idiom, ‘we’re in this together.'”