“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso

On this 263^rd day of coronavirus shutdown, my five-year-old daughter asked me “What are we doing today?” as she has for most every day. It made me realize that parenting and parenting in a pandemic has made me a leader. Which probably makes me a little slow to get it, especially if you go with University of Houston researcher Brene Brown’s definition of a leader as “anyone who holds him or herself accountable for finding potential in people or processes.”

I don’t think of myself as a leader. Instead I think of myself as independent and that is how I choose to become a parent as a single person. I also think of myself as a nurturer and that has fostered my relationship with my healthy kids. But naming that I’m called to be a leader of my little family has some usefulness – it makes the work more intentional and it makes exploration, play and boredom seem like essential tools of the job. It also amplifies my gratitude that I can say on many days, “I don’t know, your aunt or nana will be here soon!” Because parenting in a pandemic is hard and even leaders need a break!