Show Notes
Two dads, a Hemingway Daiquiri, and back-to-school week. Pete got both kids dropped off, nobody cried, and it stung anyway.
Ryan brings Matthew 6 — the lilies of the field, the birds that get fed — in a week where his two-year-old was supposed to start preschool and instead threw up every night, no fever, no answers. Pete's oldest got swimmer's ear before she'd been in the pool once. None of that goes on Instagram, which is the point. The weeks that don't make the feed are the ones where your kids watch what "I love you" looks like: waking up at 2:00 AM, getting puked on, changing the sheets, being there.
Then the money. 45.7% of US households have no retirement account. The median balance for the ones that do is $87,000. 37% of US adults couldn't cover something over $400 in cash. 65% of non-retirees say they're not on track. Ryan says he'll retire at 60 and hopes to see 80; Pete asks whether $87,000 covers twenty years. And the wild card neither of them can size: if AI changes what work is, what does retirement even mean? Pete, speaking broadly: if you think future you doesn't need money, you're an idiot.
But then a Great Wolf Lodge day pass, a $6.50 churro at Disneyland, and where they land. Save for tomorrow. Spend on the things your kids are still talking about ten days later. And be right there where your feet are, because presence beats the money either way.
THE POUR — The Hemingway Daiquiri, also called the Papa Doble. White or silver rum, maraschino liqueur, grapefruit and lime, no simple syrup. Shaken, because shaking is what wakes the citrus up. The story goes Hemingway wanted his daiquiri with less sugar and more rum so he could put a few more away. The classic and the Hemingway are both in Meehan's Bartender Manual. The full kit and every tool: https://dadtails.com/gear
MENTIONED — Matthew 6, the lilies of the field · Mr. Sloth, the book Pete reads to his kids · Cocktail Codex and Meehan's Bartender Manual · Great Wolf Lodge, Kansas City · Disneyland churros · The Bench, a new format launching soon
THE FIELD NOTES — one email a week: the episode before it's public, plus the cocktail and the kit. https://dadtails.beehiiv.com/subscribe
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Music from #Uppbeat — "Groove Sauce" by Stan Town.
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