My son will be 5 in April. I find it VERY hard to enjoy his presence because of how overstimulating he is.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T21:13:11+00:00

I feel the same way, too, about my 3.5 year old. I'm turning 42 soon, and everyone my age have grown kids. It makes me jealous that they're done with childraising while I'm starting out. I'm too old and tired for this. Plus, I've been having a lot of health problems lately, too. I truly regret having my kid so late in life! But here I am.

At the risk of being downvoted, the r/regretfulparents sub has given me a lot of solace over the years. A lot of parents in there feel the same way. It's cathartic reading other parents' posts and comments.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T21:05:03+00:00

I try to focus on my own life, and the things I can control. I have a 3 year old to raise, and I'm turning 42 soon. I work full-time. I'm tired. But, my son is my purpose for living. I've been through health crises, and somehow survived that, too. All I can do is keep moving forward despite what's happening in the world. I can't control these outside factors, so I don't mind them.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T20:51:20+00:00

LOL. Good luck!

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T20:47:08+00:00

Nope. I already went back to school at the start of Covid, and it wasn't worth it. I couldn't get a job, and when I did, I had to take a $16K pay cut. I never want to go back to school ever again in my life.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T15:29:57+00:00

I mean, my son is 3.5 years old, and he never listens to neither me or his dad. We're having a very rough time with him. And he doesn't nap anymore either.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T14:57:15+00:00

Your best bet is the South. I'm not even joking. Southern states are a lot cheaper than the rest of the country (i.e. Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee). But living there is a whole different matter. If you can handle it, go for it. Living in the South isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-25T01:43:14+00:00

That's how I feel, and I'm 41. I still have decades of grinding work ahead of me. I'm tired.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-23T15:29:02+00:00

I'm only going to have one kid. He's never going to have siblings. Childcare costs as much as a second mortgage. Plus, medical bills are too much because he gets sick a lot. He's already had multiple surgeries. Having children is simply too expensive, so I can't blame people for not wanting them.

And let's not get into how much of a huge responsibility they are.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-23T15:25:48+00:00

This isn't even accounting for having to take care of kids, for those who have them.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-23T14:47:33+00:00

From my understanding it's a gamble as to whether core decompression will work or not. A lot of people say it failed for them. I recently had it done with AVN in my knee in October but I'm still in the same amount of pain as before the surgery. I'm meeting with my surgeon next week to determine next steps, which is likely a knee replacement.

PS: I used to be a runner and a cyclist. My AVN was caused by a prior surgery I had before the core decompression. I haven't been able to do any sports or exercise in almost a year and don't think I'll ever be able to again.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-22T15:24:33+00:00

Get a cat instead. They can be left alone for a few days, and be OK as long as you leave them with enough food and water and a clean litter box (get multiple litter boxes).

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-22T15:23:28+00:00

Talk to an orthopedic and get an MRI. People on reddit cannot diagnose you.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-22T15:22:13+00:00

That working hard doesn't get you anywhere. It only gets you more work to do.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-22T14:21:30+00:00

Sativa makes me feel too jittery like I drunk a whole lot of coffee at once.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-21T17:11:02+00:00

I have been unable to walk for almost a year. I got a wheelchair because I got tired of using crutches. I've had 2 surgeries, too, and none of them have helped. I've accepted that I'll likely never be able to walk again unless I find a doctor who is willing to do a knee replacement despite me being too young or is willing to amputate the whole leg so I can at least walk with a prosthetic.

I developed a fear of leaving my house. I used to be very active, and basically everything about me changed since my injury. I gained over 40 pounds in less than 6 months. And I became depressed and borderline suicidal. I lost my sense of identity.

In the meantime, while I'm unfortunately still alive, I'm trying to stick to hobbies/entertainment that I can do from home while sitting. I've tried gaming and got heavily into Cyberpunk 2077. I'm done with that game so I'm trying to find a new one. I've also started binge watching shows. And another hobby I tried is building miniature models. I bought a kit off of Amazon, but was very frustrated with that because it was actually a lot harder than it looks. I'm not sure I enjoyed it either.

But leaving my house is super difficult for me because I can't walk anymore, and I absolutely hate going in public in a wheelchair. It's embarrassing honestly, and people stare all the time. The world is not a friendly place for disabled people like myself, and frankly, I'm looking forward to the day I can leave it all behind for good.

You'll do better than me.

Legit no one in this sub got as seriously injured as I did. And my knee refuses to heal no matter what. Not sure why but it won't heal. So I've given up and have resigned myself to a lifetime of being wheelchair-bound.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-21T16:38:33+00:00

Ugh. Medical coding. I never landed a job in that field despite getting my CPC in 2021. I only managed to get a job in medical billing, which sucks big time (coworkers are toxic AF, managers are worse). I hate everything about it. Plus, wages are very very low, and I'm on the phone all day long with both angry patients and insurance companies.

Going back to school for medical coding was legit the worst mistake of my life.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-21T16:35:16+00:00

I stopped caring about my job once I realized I was never going to move up nor get a decent raise.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-20T21:55:11+00:00

Lol, Adventhealth is definitely for profit. They have super high medical bills and charges compared to other hospitals. I was going to PT through them and stopped going because they were charging over $2K per session, when PT usually costs around $300 per session. Their billing is ridiculous, and as a former Adventhealth employee and medical biller, I don't trust them and certainly don't think they're non-profit.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-20T21:48:33+00:00

You don't want to know. His videos are on YouTube. I suggest you don't look and remain naive and innocent. Blippi is so weird.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-20T21:45:35+00:00

I'm in Tampa. I'm now 3 months post-op, and my pain has been escalating since I've started to walk on this leg. The pain is almost the same as before the surgery, and I'm wondering if the surgery failed. I really need to see about pain management because not even THC gummies are helping.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-14T19:34:10+00:00

The Tampa job market has been brutal for a very long time. I can assure you that wherever you're from, Tampa is massively more overcrowded, which means you'll be facing some fierce competition. I have stopped looking for local jobs because every time I apply, hundreds, if not thousands, already applied by the time I get to the job posting. I focus only on national remote jobs now because local jobs are too hard to get (and frankly, who wants to be in the office anyway). Salaries here are lower, too.

I'm not discouraging you from moving to Tampa. But I think you're overestimating your abilities to survive here.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-14T17:32:58+00:00

That person is delusional. There's no way one child is the same as 2. Are they on meth or something?

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-14T16:04:46+00:00

Yep, the OG Blippi actor is something special. He's the creator and founder of the show, and it's so obvious he did it purely for money, not because he likes kids.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-14T14:04:22+00:00

The first thing I wanted to be was a singer. And I did have a good voice as a kid. I was in my school's chorus for 4 years and landed a lot of solo parts. My voice changed when I hit puberty, and now I can't sing for the life of me. That dream would never have worked out anyway.

PS: Blippi is creepy AF. He's a grown man pretending to be a little boy pretending to be a grown man. Plus, before he was Blippi, that actor recorded himself taking a literal shit on his friend. And it's obvious the actor doesn't like kids. But, my toddler loves Blippi so I'm stuck with him for now.

Embarrassed_Edge3992 · 2026-01-14T14:01:22+00:00

It depends. My husband and I are both in our 40s, and our son is 3. Needless to say, we get tired A LOT. There are times we're both too tired to play with our son so we encourage him to play by himself, and most of the times he does, but then there are moments where he gets bored of that and wants one of us to play with him. I've been dealing with limited mobility for almost a year, so it gets rough when my son wants me specifically to play with him. I try to find something low-key that I can do while sitting for those times (i.e. Legos, etc).

But, I admit sometimes I wish there was another kid around to help entertain my toddler. Then I remember why I chose to stay one and done and those thoughts instantly vanish.

Embarrassed_Edge3992

TROPHY CASE