Jislaaik okes. Too true all of this. @Hasie much has been said and I don't plan on repeating anyone on purpose. My journey with the axe has been up and down. Short version - Got a guitar for my 18th Birthday. 'Borrowed' by a friend a year later, never saw it again. 2 years of no playing. Got one again for my 21st. Hardly played. Upgraded it later years and played 'slightly' more. Got involved in church band 7 years later and played for 7 years. After I left the church 'band' scene I was a bit stuck with nothing to play, no one to play with and wondering what next. For just over a year I hardly played. I joined this year awesome forum in Oct '15 and got started again - I was very motivated by everyone and felt completely inferior to everyone. I was dead scared of posting the first entry on the forum compo, but glad I did. The feedback from other members kept me going.
I also realised that I enjoy song writing a lot. My recording quality is CRAP, my gear (compared to a lot of others') is very weak and I have almost zero chops, BUT - I have found that I love to create. Trying to emulate some dude's song is cool and all, but I get more value out of what I come up with. So what if it stinks. It's mine!
2017 I hardly played again, and this year has been a challenge. I have to literally remove the dust from my guitars when I pick them up, and then I play the same stupid noodling sounds over and over again, no progression, and no regression. Just 'as is' for a few months. Frustrating yes, but probably necessary at this point.
Don't be to hard on yourself. You don't have to justify owning a guitar by playing it all the time. Enjoy the time with your family, it goes by too fast. The guitar will always be there.
