Raising kids has to be the most rewarding experience possible in life. All the moments of amazing, sublime joy are simply too numerous to even count. But as they say, those things most worth doing are often the most difficult thing to do.
Our life over the past year has gotten more and more hectic. Our oldest boy is now 2.5 years old and really a pretty manageable and easy going kid. The temper tantrums are less and less, and he's generally very easy to handle. The little one is 10 months, and is also pretty easy going. Even with this advantage there is never a down moment.
Me and my wife both work from home, and this means we are often at odds over working hours. We're lucky to have relatives nearby who babysit regularly, but even then I don't seem to manage more than 15 or 20 hours of work in a good week. This gets really frustrating.
Building Little Lexicon was a big experiment for me. If I had a normal working schedule the app could have been ready months ago. Over the course of about 6 months I managed to get it put together, and I'm now at the point where I can maintain it with the little time I have during the week.
For me the hardest part is not the work / life balance, but rather the reality / aspirations balance. How to manage your expectations when there are severe external limits to what you can achieve. This has been a great source of frustration and even anger in moments when there are things that I need to do but cannot get to.
I love having kids, and it's such an inspiration on many fronts, but it also can become tough mentally when you feel like you are not achieving what you want to.
I curious how other parents deal with this. Any tricks or advice for a young father?
