Anyone single parent I am sure will understand the stress that can occur on the race to pick up your child from their after-school care program. Well, I currently enjoy a lengthy interstate commute each day to work. This generally means I need to leave early on the days that I have the kids to ensure I can pick my youngest up from his after school program. I am a single dad, I am a working dad … but I take the dad part of those statements very seriously. On my days the kids are under my care they are my responsibility.

Thus, the drive home from work as I race to make the 6pm closing time can be a bit stressful. There are days there is traffic, days where there is an accident, days where I get caught and can’t get away as I would like to. So far, in the year and a half I have been in my current role, I have managed to leave early enough that there hasn’t been a problem. For most of the previous school year I was able to coordinate with a family friend, which reduced the stress extensively – though I was always very conscious of the time. However, I was back with the standard after school care system this year.

Today I got caught running a quick errand after work which put me behind the 8-ball. For the first time I had to make the phone call. One I have been dreading since I started this new life as a single dad. One I have managed to avoid until now. I had to call their mom and see if she was available to pick them up. I had 30 minutes to make a 55 minute trip … so my GPS was telling me – I was going to be late. I “knew” I was going to hear about it.

She graciously dropped everything, which meant her leaving work. When I arrived at the school, not as late as I was expecting, I came baring coffee and a very grateful heart. She did not seem concerned or put out, simply said, “This is how it is suppose to work.”

She surprised me today. I am very grateful to her willingness to lend assistance without hesitation. Thank you.

I have grown a lot in the last 3 years since my separation, but it has not happened by accident. I took an active role in my own recovery. Often finding myself living a real-life interpretation of snakes and ladders I fought to continue growing, learning, and pushing boundaries. It took effort, resilience, and motivation to stay moving forward … and it took a lot of help from friends.

One of the key habits from Steven R. Covey’s book The 7 habits of highly effective people is the habit of “Sharpening the sword”. This reflects on a constant need to improve, to grow, and to learn in all aspects of your life and is reflected a mantra I have taken to heart:

If you’re not growing – your dying!

This is a way of life for the Navy Seals who are constantly being forced into new and uncomfortable situations.  It is crucial for leaders so they don’t lose track of those pack.  However, it is also crucial to those of us trying to rebuild our lives.

My journey is nowhere near complete but I did noticed that I have collected quite a few resources that I found incredibly useful over the past two years. So, in the interest of ‘iron sharpening iron’ I thought I would share my favorites. I have great plans to grow and evolve this collection as time allows, but since Rome wasn’t built in a day I thought it best to start somewhere.

And of course … I am looking to grow my ‘to read’ list and would love to hear what recommendations you have for building a better, more productive, and more fulfilling life.  Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  I look forward to hearing from you.