When I first started the entrepreneurship journey in 2015, one of the big drivers was that I wanted to be a present dad.

When I was the CMO at United Real Estate, I spent at least 90 minutes a day in the car commuting from our home in Lee’s Summit to North Kansas City.

Since I was on our international expansion team, I also took trips to Latin America, which meant I spent a lot of time in places like Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico. Those were some of the most rewarding work trips of my life, but our kids were young (one and three), and I knew the next ten years were going to be important.

The reality is, I wanted to be around for as much of it as possible, more than I wanted the job.

Fast forward 11 years, and I have rarely missed any of my kids’ field trips.

I’m also starting to realize these days are coming to an end. In fact, this week may have been the last field trip I got to attend with one of our kids.

Yesterday I went fishing with our daughter’s science class. The kids conducted a few experiments: checking water quality and identifying ecological specimens. In between, they got to do a ton of fishing.

I snapped this picture of our daughter, and it reminded me that some of the best decisions in life aren't apparent until many years later....in this case, 11 years later.

While I walked away from a job that I had worked my entire career to reach, I wouldn't miss days like today for a single thing.

This week reminded me of the importance of presence and its role in our relationships.

I’m grateful that our kids will look back on this season of life and remember that their dad was present.

Have a blessed weekend.

-Kevin Oldham
Founder @ Diffactory

P.S. If you’re reading this, I just want to say thank you

It means a lot to me that you’d take the time to read my weekly email. In today's world, where attention is the most valuable resource we can ask of others, I don't take it lightly.