I have sort of the opposite feeling reading some children's books to my son, especially ones that I can remember from my own childhood. It's great for me to remember to look at the world in a more childlike way. Even though I have more responsibilities as an adult, like bills to pay, I also have the freedom to be silly, enjoy time with my family, do something creative, etc. Any given day I can decide I want to try something new in the kitchen, make a big mess concocting some crazy recipie, maybe decide it didn't work out and go grab a pizza for dinner instead. Or I can write some stories or poetry, or take a sketchbook to the lake, snap some photos at the train station, or whatever catches my fancy on that day. I think we sometimes forget we have certain freedoms as we settle in to typical patterns and go a little on autopilot, but all it takes is a gentle nudge to rediscover that type of fun.

I switched careers later in life after finding that it was difficult to make money in my initially chosen field, but I don't feel "fucked for life" by it. I actually feel a lot better about doing things I like outside of work. It's much more rewarding to be creative if I'm not trying to maximize profits or otherwise commodify what I'm doing. Sure I wish I didn't have to work and could do whatever I wanted all the time, but I work generally acceptable hours at a stomach-able enough job and have time outside work for family and fun and I've made my peace with that.