I was under EXTREME pressure and stress at work that I would carry home. I hard a hard time sleeping. By the end of my 30s, I finally realized I was burned out at work, had stayed in the job too long, and my career was not unfolding like I had hoped. And speaking of home, I was constantly working on a fixer upper — that didn't help matters. Thank goodness for little kids and an understanding wife to help me unwind. I wish I had been a better father and husband during this period. 

40s went a little better. I changed jobs and got more involved at church and the neighborhood. The kids did great in school and life. The boys were a nightmare hormonal cocktail from 14-17 but we all survived that and they returned to normal. I went back to what I had been doing earlier in my career for the money. My wife loved the increased income, so that helped our relationship even though the stress was killer. Overall I had a better perspective on work, so it wasn't as bad as my 30s, but I understood I needed to rake in the $ to set us up for retirement and help pay for missions and college. I let that job run its course which takes me to...

50s. Best so far. Kids are grown and made good choices in their lives and are doing well. I have a no-stress job that pays the bills and allows us to continue to save to hopefully retire at 60. Fully engaged in church and enjoy that. I own a home that requires just the right amount of maintenance and allows me to get away on the weekends if I want. 

Thoughts on earlier life:

Teenage — fun times with sports and all. I wish I had put even more time into sports and studies. I wasted a lot of time. I also keep in touch (once a year) with a grand total of one friend from my teenage years. Looking back, other than joining the Church when I was 17, I don't look at my teenage years as important at all in who I became.

20s — I matured mentally late. I didn't get the big picture in life at all which invited unwelcome and unnecessary stress to my life and made things harder on my wife that they needed to be. Dumb, dumb, dumb.