The Lie I believed for 15 Years

You're not "paying your dues." You're paying with your life.

I missed my son’s football games until he was 12.

Not because I was a bad mom. Not because I didn’t care. Because I was working 65-70 hours a week climbing a corporate ladder that I thought was taking me somewhere.

Three promotions in three years. Good money. “Success.”

And my kids? They were off doing things with their dad while I sat in meetings that could have been emails, responded to Slack messages at 10pm, and told myself the same lie every ambitious person tells themselves:

Work hard now. Enjoy life later.

Here’s what nobody told me: there is no “later.” There’s just now, over and over, until one day you look up and a decade is gone.

I have three boys. Do the math on what I missed with the younger two.

If you’re reading this and feeling that tightness in your chest, this one’s for you.