| Everything that's worth doing in life will take a certain degree of work and sacrifice. Parenting is no exception. And as others have stated, many people see it as the hardest thing they've done. I'd just like to complete the equation and say that it's also the most rewarding, at least in my case. So the question is rather how to endure the hardship in the best way possible. Kind of the same way an olympic swimmer must come up with strategies to be able to train (ie. suffer) day in day out until they finally win a medal. What I think is very helpful is: a) To find activities that both you and your kids enjoy, and do those things (as opposed to just "watching your kids" as they play). b) Find ways to still do those things you like to do on your own, and also for the things you like to do with your partner. This requires more coordination now between the parents and also with whoever is around and can support (family, other friends with kids, etc) but it's definitely possible. All in all, in my experience, life is so much brighter and exciting with kids. It's exhausting, yes, but so is surfing and hiking, and building a startup, and anything else that's worth doing. I think the key is to take control of our lifestyle and make sure that it is, with our without kids, aligned with what what you internally want to do (hence points a) and b) above). |