From night shift warehouse guy to stay at home dad - 2 years in
So I quit my job at the warehouse about 2 years ago when my second kid was born and my wife got a promotion. Best and worst decision I've made honestly. I miss the paycheck obviously and having my own space to just exist without someone asking me for juice or yelling from the bathroom. Miss my coworkers too, those guys were like brothers.
But man, I don't miss the exhaustion. I was missing everything with the kids. Now I coach my oldest's soccer team, I know all their teacher's names, I actually make dinner instead of reheating stuff at midnight. My marriage is way better because we're actually on the same team now instead of ships passing. I still have the identity crisis sometimes where I feel like I need to explain what I do, but when my kid ran up to me at the soccer game and said 'Dad you're the best coach ever' it hit different. Wouldn't trade it for anything.
That takes real courage to step back from warehouse work and lean into parenting. The money stuff must be interesting to navigate. Do you feel like you're getting more time with your kids or is it somehow even more complicated than that?