The first few months were a living hell, compounded by myself and my wife not living close to family. Knowing its on you, and only on you can be hard. Ever since then it's been pretty good...

Now he's 11, it's all about him figuring stuff out, and it's kind of awesome to see the thinking going on when he's trying for malicious compliance... Which I let him get away with, as long as it's within the rules he was given. No better way to train a brain :)

“They say sufferings are misfortunes, but if I was asked whether I would stay as I was before I was taken prisoner, Or go through it all again, I would say, "For God's sake, let me be a prisoner again”. For me, when our lives are knocked off course, we imagine everything in them is lost. But it is only the start of something new and good. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a great deal. A great deal still to come.”

- Tolstoy in War and Peace

It's like running a startup. Hard but fulfilling.

You don't do a startup because it was going to be easy. Highs and lows. In both cases you are crafting something deeply personal. Both take commitment and sheer will. Having the right co-founder is paramount.

Both. It's the journey that counts, and it's a difficult one.

For me, far better. And that's not something I expected, nor could I have explained the experience even to myself from beforehand.

Some changes are definitely worse, and some are better. Overall, my experience is that it's a net win.

Yes