1/4 Life Crisis....

[PocketThunder]

Anyone go thru the 1/4 life crisis?  Say you live to be close to 100, at 25 you might go thru your 1/4 life crisis.  I did when i was 26, (33 now) i realized that i wasnt going to be in my early 20's care free life anymore and i had to stick to a 'real' job and start my career. 

Since its freezing cold out i've been going thru all my camera card photos and making books of my kids and my old times in the last few years.  I'm almost caught up to 2009 tonight with backing up photos and videos, and i just cant help but think about the good ol days as i go through the pictures from years past..

I guess this post is for all the guys younger than 25.   My advice is to do everything you think you need to wait on for whatever reason.  For example: go on that trip white water rafting with your friends,... go on that ski trip to the rockies with your friends... dont start working right out of college and be a lift monkey/ski bum at a resort in the swiss alps for one year... ...  Or maybe its just the cabin fever setting in...

PT....  putting 3 kids to bed...  taking care of my honey doo list... then at 10:30pm finally working on photo archives...


PS: oh and Bear, stay in Hawaii... WTF are you thinking man!  No matter how bad you have it with your job, you dont have to live in Minnesota right now when its below 0 firetrucking º outside!

[purple charger]

I think you need to move more north instead of being the tropical Twin Cities where it is warm.

[BB1]

My advice for you younger guys is never get married or if you do, don't have any kids.
All the married guys at work wishes they were like me. I hear it all the time.
I will travel the world, after the Charger is done. 

The world is my oyster, no baggage, just like the amazing race. From the beer gardens of Germany, to the shores of Greek islands, Australia, Thailand, Japan, back to Sweden, Italy, Holland, Scotland.
I'll eat anything like, the guy on bazaar foods. Come home and drive my Charger till the wheels fall off.
 
I have too many plans to get life crisis. Operation Arizona is almost here, move to San Diego to help with my dad. (Alzheimer)
Ah, back home to sunny San Diego, after 15 years of Midwest living. Got to love it.

West coast car shows, buying a nice new home in Arizona, ext...

Man it's a wonderful life, so much to do so little time.     

[Old Moparz]

I don't think I went through any 1/4 life crisis, nor do I feel like I'll be going through any others in the future. Maybe the biggest reason is that I did do a lot of different things long before I had a kid, & still do whatever I feel like doing. I turned 46 this past December, my wife just turned 50 last month in January, & our daughter will be 10 in May. Other than cutting back on how often we do certain things due to our daughter's needs, like school, piano, softball, etc., we never really changed our lifestyle.

I started dating my wife when I was 23 in 1985. Back then, she was recently divorced from an abusive alcoholic & not in any rush to remarry. There was none of that "I-need-a-ring-and-a-commitment-and-don't-forget-my-bioclock-is-ticking" kind of crap, so things were great for both of us. It wasn't until 1995 when we both felt "mature enough" & "ready enough" to start a family, so we got married. Having waited, the advantage was also being better off financially since we already had a house & decent jobs with health benefits.

I think it's a big mistake when people force themselves to live a completely different way because they now have a kid/s. (Unless you're a party animal with a bad liver & STD's from too much booze & nasty women) For example, we had a week long, camping trip planned at a bluegrass festival near my wife's due date. Worse case scenario would be cancelling if the due date was off. It wasn't, so we went when our daughter was 3 weeks old. It was different, but still fun & nice to relax, especially for my wife who was tired of waddling & being uncomfortable.

Some people thought it was stupid bringing her at that age, but some thought it was okay. Everything was fine & the kid survived. We still go every year, sometimes 3 or 4 times if we can, & our daughter loves it & never wants to leave. She's made lots of friends that she gets to see at all these camping trips & is never bored. When I went to a winter swap meet a few weeks ago near where the festivals are, we planned it so she can stay overnight at her friend's place. It was just a 1/2 hour from where my wife & I stayed at a hotel where we had peace & privacy for a change.

I will agree though, looking through old photos & other keepsakes will definitely get you to recall all kinds of things. When my daughter was about 6, we were in the attic going through boxes of my old toys & other personal belongings I haven't seen in ages. It was fun, & I think we were up there for 3 or 4 hours. She loves seeing all the toys, or hearing about my goofy friends & the things we did. Well, not all my friends, & not all the things. She has yet to hear about Opossum Boy, & won't be hearing about me doing 110 MPH in my Hearse over the George Washington Bridge. 

Sure, there's a few things in my past that I'd have liked to have done, also probably change, but I don't have any regrets. I still see those things I dreamt of doing, as well as new ones I want to do, but one by one, I will still try to get to them. I'm also glad my wife still wants to get out & do things. It's great having someone you can be with who'd rather camp or go to a swap meet instead of going the mall. I think it's when you stop dreaming, or stop wanting to do those things, is when you'll need the crisis help line.

[General_01]

I don't think I went through a 1/4 life crisis. My wife and I were 21 when we got married...and no, we didn't "have to". We were married in 1989. We had our oldest daughter in 1996. The only thing I wish is that we had done things we thought about doing before we had the kids. We were not working high paying jobs at the time, so big trips were out because we didn't want to get too heavy in debt. Wish we would have just done it and let the debt be damned. We went to Hawaii in 1990 as our honeymoon. I swore I would be back. Still hasn't happened yet. My cousin and I wanted to drive our cars on a trip down Route 66. We started talking about it, but it never materialized. I guess my advise would be a little like Old Moparz. Do things you want to do (using some common sense, of course) and don't put things off too long. You may not get another chance to do the things you would like to do.

P.S.-Paul, I think having all the kids so little right now is also having an affect on you. Three kids that need your attention constantly can be very draining and make you yearn for the care-free days of leaving when you went for as long as you want. I have been there. Don't worry. It does get better. There will be a day when you can hit the cruise nights without the stroller and the kids won't have to be told to not touch everything. Those days are coming and they will be here sooner than you think. So hold on Dude. This summer we are gonna have to have a couple BBQ's together.