The Dented Thermos
A parent finds their child's forgotten thermos at the bottom of a backpack—and remembers what really matters when life feels uncertain.
A dented thermos rolled out of the backpack this morning, still half-full of cold coffee from last week. The kind of small forgetfulness that used to frustrate me. But lately, with everything shifting—market worries, uncertainty about what's next—I noticed something different. My kid had written their name on the lid in fading marker.
I poured out the old coffee, rinsed it, and refilled it for today. While I did, I thought about how storms pass, plans change, and we keep showing up anyway. We pack thermoses. We write names on things we might lose. We hope.
My child grabbed it without thinking, the way kids do when they know someone's got their back.
What's something small you pack or prepare, even on the hardest days?
- parenting
- hope
- small-moments
- resilience
- family
- uncertainty