Kids = innocence; of a purity that ultimately, in most cases, gets lost bit by bit as they age. A few get to hold onto at least some measure of it through adulthood though, and thank goodness! They're our saving grace!
I see. I loved designing and writing software; it's kind of like being a magician at times, and sometimes the praise one gets for some coming up with a neat little function only serves to inflate the ego but generally not the wallet. Someone going out of their way to give me a pat on the back was a signal that I should start thinking about promotion, lol.
I moved into the configuration manager position the last 5 years, so I was doing a lot of administrative work with approving and distributing new software releases, and a lot less coding. I was more an employee of the IT dept. at that point and less an employee of the software dept.
Those golden handcuffs are certainly hard to break. I hope you find a key, but I think you may be on to something on the horizon. The best of luck to you!