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I just finished an article about how miserable parents are. The article included tips on how to become a happier parent and not hate your life, but also summarized why they believed so many studies show that we are miserable if we have kids. Apparently, now that people wait until they are a bit older and have experienced all that life has to offer before having kids, they know what they are missing. I would fall into this category. I enjoyed my college years and towards the end I fell in love and got married. At that point I got a career and worked my way up for a few years until I had some responsibility and mostly enjoyed my job. Then we had kids, left the city and now I am home with them full time.
I have always felt that having experienced some life has given me an advantage in being able to be content as a parent. I am very glad I got to experience that young, carefree phase of life to its fullest but that can't last forever. Young and carefree was often funded through student loans and I assume they would have eventually stopped giving me money. I am equally thankful I had a "real" job, but I was also there long enough to realize there isn't a lot of purpose in a "real" job. Doesn't each phase in life have its own challenges and joys? Yes, multi-tasking now includes me changing a poopy diaper while yelling at my daughter to stop eating the butter but the snuggles more than make up for that. Where else in life can you learn about love or selflessness in the same way that you can from parenting your child? I know that doesn't sound like a good thing but I assure you it is. So I beg to differ with the author of that article, parents aren't such a miserable bunch. I know many moms and they do talk about the challenges but I don't know any that would trade their misery for their life before kids and that must say something.
