Having Kids

And while having kids may be warping my present judgement, it hasn't overwritten my memory. I remember perfectly well what life was like before. Well enough to miss some things a lot, like the ability to take off for some other country at a moment's notice. That was so great. Why did I never do that?

See what I did there? The fact is, most of the freedom I had before kids, I never used. I paid for it in loneliness, but I never used it.

With my son now approaching his first birthday I can relate a lot to this piece from Paul Graham. Raising a child has been considerably harder than I anticipated. Don't get me wrong, it's equally the most incredible and fulfilling experience too, but it is relentless, and in the tougher moments it's easy to look back and think about the freedom you've since lost. 

Except I never used it.

It's just easier to essentially blame that fact on another part of your life than own up to it. There's also no reason why that freedom has to be lost, and this is something my wife and I are trying to fight. Sure, it's harder to travel with a one year old. Even more so with a dog. But it's far from impossible if that's what you really value.