09/24/2026
I missed the soccer game.
I missed the baseball game too. More than one.
With my oldest, I thought I was doing the right thing. Work hard. Hustle. Provide. That's what my dad did, and it's all I knew. He wasn't wrong and I wasn't wrong. I just didn't know better.
I thought being a good dad meant making sure the bills got paid.
Now when I look back, I'm not thinking about the deals I closed or the extra hours I put in. I'm thinking about the games. The ones where I wasn't in the stands.
That's what I'd change. I would have been THERE.
I got better over time. My younger two got a better version of me because I finally figured out what actually mattered. But my oldest doesn't get those games back. Neither do I.
Look at that hourglass. The sand at the bottom is already gone. The sand at the top is what you still have.
If you're a parent grinding right now, I get it. I was you. You're doing it FOR them. But your kids don't need you to provide everything. They need you to show up.
Go to the game. Leave work early. Sit in the bleachers and yell their name loud enough that they hear it.
You only have ONE life. So do they.
Whose game are you making it to this week?