So I went to the doctor recently for my annual physical. If you’re anything like me, you probably only visit the doctor when you’re falling apart. Guys, let’s be honest. I have to be feeling really sick before I’ll drag myself off to the docs and by this point, it’s probably a whole lot worse than it could have been. As it turns out, I’m not alone.

Bills. That dreaded time of the month.

Like many families, it’s the time of the month where we try and make it all work. I’m holed up in my home office, running numbers for our bills and monthly expenses and trying to match them up with our monthly budget. I work full-time running a small business and my wife works part-time to bring in some extra cash.

It seems like each month we are working hard to get by.

If you could improve one area in your fatherhood journey…what would it be?

For a lot of dads, they want to be more patient. When experienced dads are asked about becoming a father, a common theme that comes up is the importance of patience.

There is nothing like a crying baby in the middle of the night to test a young couple’s patience. Or being interrupted continuously while trying to accomplish a simple task around the house.

Let’s take a look at two men on the job. One is a teacher and a coach at a local high school. He feels purposeful and fulfilled most days on the job. He looks forward to seeing young minds develop and being a part of the broader school community. His work makes sense to him. Over the years as he has taught, his students return to see him and he is thankful for how they have each paved their way into college and careers. He has helped instill a love of learning and curiosity into countless students.

I remember when I was a child – my mother raising four children on her own, taught us how to read a clock early. Her reason for teaching us to tell the time was that we were to give her a half hour of rest so that she could relax from the stresses of work before we came to her with all our problems that needed solving. We had a habit of putting all the furniture outside and hosing down the house whenever we were home for the summer. One day as we were returning the furniture to their rightful place, it rained and her favorite couch got soaked.

As an avid gardener, I am usually concerned about the health of my plants. Am I giving them the right nutrients? Is the plant pot bound and needs to be moved into a different one? Do they need pruning?

My neighbor has a very prolific lime tree. Yet, each year, the limes got smaller and smaller and did not produce much juice. I examined the tree and noticed a lot of dead branches all over the tree.