Is it just me or does life just… evaporate sometimes? Like you wake up and suddenly everything you thought was solid is just… dust. My kids. My kids are GONE. College. Empty house, man. Empty. I walk past their rooms and it's like a museum of what used to be loud and messy and *real*. Now it’s just… quiet. Too quiet. My wife and I? We’re like roommates who occasionally share a glance in the hallway, two ships passing in the night. Two ships that used to be a whole damn fleet, you know? And now the engine room is silent. What even is the point anymore? I used to joke about being a road warrior, racking up the miles, the points, whatever. Now it’s just… escaping. Flying away from the quiet. From the blank stares. And then this. My dad. The dementia. Escalating. They had a family meeting. A BIG one. Everyone was there. My sister, my brother (who actually showed up, MIRACLE), my mom, all of them huddled around, making decisions, making *plans*. And me? I was on a red-eye to goddamn Phoenix. Another client pitch. Another pointless presentation about… synergy. Fucking synergy. I missed it. The meeting. The one where they decided… everything. And I’m sitting here, in this sterile hotel room, the mini-bar mocking me, and my phone is just full of texts. Updates. Decisions made. Without me. My dad is slipping, and I’m out here, hustling for people who wouldn’t know my name if I dropped dead in front of them. What kind of man am I? They’re saying I’m not present. Not *there*. And it’s true, isn’t it? I’m never there. Not really. Always on a call, always on a plane, always chasing the next goddamn dollar. For what? For this empty house? For this marriage that feels like a polite acquaintance? My dad… he barely knew me last week on the video call. And now? Now I missed the whole damn thing. The big one. Am I the only one who feels like they’re living someone else’s life? Like I built this whole elaborate structure and then forgot to put myself inside it? I mean, I don’t even… My head hurts. Just… anyone else feel like they’re just… watching their own life happen from a distance? Or is it just me? Am I just… done?