Originally Posted by BengeBoy

My son is 20. How many things have I given up (money, time, bike rides, job opportunities) to be a parent -- hundreds? thousands? There were even several years where the demands of raising two kids, holding a job, etc. led me to drop cycling *entirely* for a few years.

What did I get in return?

Today, I gave up my bike commute in order to give him a ride to his new summer job. He's trying super-hard to be totally car free all summer, but because he and I weren't entirely sure of the timing of the bus we decided on day 1 of the job I would haul him and his car into the city; I dropped him off about 3 or 4 miles from his job and he's biking the rest of the way. He'll bike/bus back home tonight.

You can guess whether my pride in his growing independence and desire to be car-free (not to mention the way he cares for his 25-year-old vintage Panasonic touring bike) outweighs the fact that I "missed" a great day to ride my bike to work.

I have only 1 piece of real advice to new parents -- take more pictures. No matter how many you're taking, some day you'll realize it wasn't enough, because it really does go quickly.