79th letter from Mihai Tue 17 Feb, 2026 Bangkok, Thailand Hey Reader, I don't have a big story this week (though you can read my daily realisations in Cold Showers), so I decided to share some behind-the-scenes of the Rooted Dad. About a year ago, I committed to sending you a letter each Tuesday. It's been a challenge, but I kept my promise. 80+ letters prove I am committed to sharing what helps me stay present as a father and husband, and not to lose myself in the middle of it all. What you...
12 days ago • 3 min read
78th letter from Mihai Tue 9 Jan, 2026 Bangkok, Thailand Hey Reader, I’m writing this from a rooftop bar in Bangkok. Yep, I'm not in Kansas Colmar anymore. On my 11-hour flight here, I selfishly watched a lot of movies and documentaries, something I used to do more often before becoming a dad. I didn’t plan it this way, but at some point I realized everything I chose to watch circled around the same kind of story. One of the documentaries followed a young man who decided to cross the Alps...
19 days ago • 2 min read
77th letter from Mihai Tue 3 Feb, 2026 Colmar, France We decided to move out of the house we live in now, the house of Aurélie’s parents.It’s been good to us, and it helped us a lot, but it’s time to have a place that’s ours. I decided to take the lead on this. I’ve noticed over the years that I can be easygoing in a way that looks calm from the outside, but often means I step back too much. I let things unfold, I let her decide, and without really meaning to I leave her carrying more than...
26 days ago • 2 min read
76th letter from Mihai Tue 27 Jan, 2026 Colmar, France In 2018, a ground service agent with no flight training stole a plane from Seattle airport, did a barrel roll, flew for over an hour, and crashed it into a remote island. It ended tragically. I’m not interested in the spectacle of it. What struck me was the feeling underneath. That sense of being stuck, bored, frustrated, tired of waiting for life to change. I don’t think most of us would ever do something that reckless or selfish. We’re...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
75th letter from Mihai Tue 20 Jan, 2026 Colmar, France My type of fun is climbing that big tree on the right while my daughter naps I’ve been settling into this new job.A remote role, working from home. It fits my skills and my priorities. I’m not out in nature much, and I’m not around people physically as much as I’d like. Those things still matter to me, and I know I’ll want more of them again. For now, though, I feel grateful. I have room to breathe, enough stability, fewer decisions...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
74th letter from Mihai Tue 13 Jan, 2026 Colmar, France “Shut up.” I said it quickly, under my breath, but loud enough. Then again. And again. We were at the airport in Romania, already tight on time. My parents were there, standing a bit to the side. We had our daughter with us, tired and curious, at that age where she could decide to run off or start crying at any second. The line behind us was growing, and the space around the counter felt smaller by the minute. We had way too much luggage....
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
73rd letter from Mihai Tue 6 Jan, 2026 Colmar, France Hey Reader, I’m back in Colmar after ten days in Romania. Before sitting down to write, we were at the table sharing a galette des rois. One of those small French family rituals that mark the season. We cut the cake, passed the plates around, and one slice had the little figurine inside. This time, it landed on my plate. Paper crown included. We laughed and moved on. This trip in Romania felt different. For the first time in my life, I...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
72nd letter from Mihai Tue 30 Dec, 2025 Titu, Romania Hey Reader, This is the last letter of 2025. I’m back in Romania, at my parents’ place. At the end of the year, that contrast feels stronger. It’s easier to notice what changed, what stayed, and how I relate to my own life now. This is what this letter is mostly about. This year, more than anything, I stayed with something. I’ve written over a hundred letters across the weekly Rooted Dad Letters and the Cold Showers. The rhythm really...
2 months ago • 4 min read
71st letter from Mihai Tue 23 Dec, 2025 Colmar, France After ten years in the military, I wanted freedom. So for most of my twenties and the beginning of my thirties, I lived without much structure or direction. I explored, tested things, and moved often. I traveled to more than thirty countries. I volunteered teaching English in Colombia, worked on permaculture farms in Portugal, built stone walls in the Canary Islands, and guided cycling, snowmobile, and hiking trips around the world. That...
2 months ago • 4 min read