I went back to work

I’ve entered a new phase of adulthood.

It hit me when I walked by a playground the other day.

The kids playing in a crusty little sandbox brought back so much nostalgia.

In the past, I’d say to myself,“Wow those kids are young.”

But now when I walk by a playground, I look at the parents and say, “Wow, those parents are so young.”

This is a new season of life.

And after 10 years of being semi-retired, I’m doing something drastic.

I’m going back to work.

You’re receiving this newsletter as a long-time RadReads subscriber. I stopped writing the weekly newsletter this past June but will continue to share musings on entrepreneurship, fatherhood, money and mortality on a periodic basis.

Rearranging life around the “Magic Window”

Ten years ago I had a crazy idea. Our eldest daughter was just born and I wondered if I could flip the script on career and family.

Would it be possible to prioritize my family over my career?

Could I ditch my peak earnings years and instead focus on the Magic Window — that special period where you are the absolute center of your child’s universe?

We had some savings. We are long-time renters. We aren’t crazy spenders.

So I bailed on Wall Street1.

Ten years have passed. I have less hair on my head and my beard is effectively all white. (I’m still desperately clinging to my six-pack.)

I also have detailed receipts about how the last decade played out.

I barely see my kids (during the week)

This summer we were at my in-laws’ beach club at the Jersey shore.

Our two girls (now 11 and 8) were off gallivanting with their cousins — doing cannon balls, eating ice cream sandwiches and playing Marco Polo.

Normally, they’d pester us at least a few times for food — but here they could just order on the family account.

I barely saw them all week.

Which led me to do something crazy.

I played with someone else’s kid.

Yes, one of our friends had a chatty 6 year old. She was quizzing me with riddles, telling me about The Babysitter’s Club and then out of the blue she said:

Hey, do you want to play with me?

My other option was reading The Death of Ivan Ilych —