Non-parents think having kids is harder than it is
https://substack.com/home/post/p-167431854
Some excerpts:
>When I finally crossed the mental threshold to wanting kids, it wasn’t any kind of epiphany or singular episode. It was more like a slow, gradual realization that I don’t have anything else to do.
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> I was just kind of existing, the same way most people do. And I hate to be crude about it, but that’s where you’re at too. ...What else are you going to do with yourself?
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>Kids are a wonderful, magical miracle. In many ways, the entire reason any of us are alive is to procreate, that is what we have been programmed by evolution to do. The sense of fulfillment and joy that you get from having kids is indescribable. There is a good reason that parents would never go back to being childless if they had the choice. They couldn’t imagine life without their babies because children give your life meaning and purpose.
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>After you have kids, it turns out that you didn’t really need all that much. There wasn’t a lot to get ready for. They have a roof over their heads and their bellies are full and they have a place to sleep. They have a present, loving parent who is trying their best, and that’s about it. Not much more to it, I’m afraid. ... Before you’re a parent, this seems like a whole other world. A totally alien existence that’s scary and confusing. It all seems like so much, so much that you’re not ready for. And then you get there and the illusion is shattered.