Epic Adventures or Family Failures? #rebuilddad #FamilyJourneys #divorce #shorts

'Cause she didn't need me in her photos. She wanted the idea of us to prove she was winning. She once planned a 14-mile hike in the Taiwan mountains. It was officially closed to the public after a group of high school students went up there, got lost, and died walking in circles. But she said, "It's a secret trail, the best hikes in Taiwan, and only certain special people can go." go. Just one day before I had to fly 13 hours back to San Francisco, it was 100 degrees, no shade, thin air. By 5 miles, I thought I was going to pass out. But to her, it was amazing. A year later, I plan a trip to Yosemite. A 2-mile family-friendly trail. Picnic by the waterfall. Something for connection, not competition. Halfway through, she storms off. Too easy. Too boring. And that's when I realized interested. It wasn't about family. It was about control. Because when she planned it, it was epic. When you plan it, it's a failure. And every one of her adventures documented thousands on thousands of selfie or pictures with the kids in every angle. She kept asking me to just take one more in different poses, different backgrounds. Not once did she say, let's take one together, ask the girls to take one for us. Because she didn't need me in her photos. She wanted the idea of us to prove she was winning. That's when it hit me. I wasn't her partner. I was her production crew.