Catching up on this thread gave me pause.
I've said here and there I re-married in my early 40's to a woman who was 29 with no kids. She wanted children, and I agreed; however, the nature of her job meant the children would be with me far more than her, which I was good with. However, it does have a cost in that I simply don't have the time to do this or that; I'm watching the kids, or taking them to soccer or school, or whatnot. They are still too young to leave alone, but in the next 3 years or so, I could start thinking of doing that.
I'm not bitter over it, and with the hours my wife has there's literally no opportunity to do things I would like to do...with men. I have a country club membership, but I've not played a round in 5 years. She's encouraged me to go play, but when she tells me I have a few hours...well, I really can't squeeze in 18 with the people I would play with because that's gonna take 4-5 hours minimum, so that's out.
To her credit, she does recognize that I need to do more male bonding things, but she also recognizes all of the things that I do for the kids, for the house, etc that something to go, and it has.
Having said all of this, it does make me think, as I'm in my mid-50's now...just how much I've fallen behind in male bonding stuff. I have all of you mouthbreathers for entertainment, so I'm not totally isolated from society...in a sense. Not many male co-workers that I'd care to associate with away from work, either. I'll be able to retire in the next 7 years, and the kids by that time will be in college---I'll have plenty of time then, but I look at it like starting to date late in life after not doing it for decades---how do I start?
And again, I have no resentment at all. Having kids later in life has been a great joy. I loved the old couple in a McDonald's a few years back on a Saturday morning asking me if taking my grandkids out to breakfast was fun; the look on their faces when I told them that no, they were mine. That sort of thing plus I love the time that I get to spend with them. Something had to give, however, and it was "me" time.
I'll go back to lurking.