I enjoyed your article, and realize that it's probably true for most people, but I felt kind of depressed reading about how you've missed out on so many years that you've and have been longing for the life you used to dream of having as a child.

So much of the stress that you wrote about and this pushed out timeline, could have been avoided by not having kids and/or choosing to build your life on your own terms earlier.

I think so many people get stuck in the idea that you have to have kids in your 20's, but you pointed out a really important thing here: that that's just when you get to start making money and living your own life. You can choose to put off child rearing (if you choose to do it at all) until it's easier when you're making more. I'm not saying they aren't worth it (I'm sure they are for some), but I think what's really happening here at 40 is that you're finally becoming free of the some of the responsibilities that you took on early on in your life that made it more difficult at the time. It doesn't really have much to do with being 40 per se.

For comparison, I'm 27, debt free, own my home, and am on my first mini-retirement. I do what I want when I want. Not to say I'm "winning" at anything, just bringing that up to make a point that it has little to do with age and everything to do with the choices that one makes.

I'm very happy that you're starting to find time to live the life you dreamed of now, and my main point with this comment was just to point out to people that decisions early on can drastically impact the rest of their lives. We decide how to design our lives with what we're given and what we work for, it doesn't have to be stuck on the normal timeline.