The "funny' thing is, i don't know that I would have done anything different. my job is uninteresting (e.g. soul-crushing) but my family has enjoyed a far better lifestyle than I did growing up.

Another point - having been raised by a single mom in a small apartment, we were very close (under every interpretation). Now that I have some resources, I have kids on each floor of my house doing their thing online. We have to make an effort to spend time together (tonight I invented an emergency: I don't know how to install this shelving unit).

I try to respect that every generation expects their traditions to continue, and that every child forges new traditions just like I did - asd my father, grandfather, etc.

There's an art to growing old but I am not that artist.