Parenthood is it worth it?

Coincidentally, someone just sent this to me. Seems like this would be a good place to leave it.

Some NSFW language
http://littlewhitelion.com/people-with-no-kids-dont-know-46781/

I'm 28 and the only one of my friends left that hasn't had children. I, in some ways, feel like its too late to have kids for me. I don't want to be that gray haired lady that goes to parent teacher meetings and everyone thinking I am this child's grandparent... I love that I can do what I want when I want... I love working third shift and I love my freedom. I know it sounds selfish but I like the time I get to spend with my man and a kid would get in the way with that. I like to have my friends kids over and then give them back at the end of the day... after they are over for awhile I get over my baby fever fairly quickly. So, I think I will just stick with my 2 dogs and call it a day. lol

I started working on my first at 38. My missus was 30.

I'm still going to be kicking *kitten* and taking names long into my 80's!

There isnt a single parent that would tell you it was a mistake to have kids-thats too taboo.

Personally? I hate the buggers and only want yo deal with the kids in my life i can give back when i want to duct tape their stupid little mouths shut.

Ahem. Im too self centered to be held responsible for a tiny person.

As a father of four sons (24, 23, 22, 13), I could write for days on this. Let me sum it all up with one quick story.

December 19, 2001. Around three months after 9/11. My sons were 11, 10, 9 and 2. My wife and I took them to the site of the World Trade Center (and a few days later, the Pentagon), because we felt like there were many lessons to be learned there. We stood outside an ancient church just two blocks from ground zero. On the sidewalk outside the church was an informal, impromptu memorial with blankets, pictures of dead and missing family members, prayer candles, and scrawled words of inspiration and hope. In the center was a broad brimmed hat filled with change, ones, fives, tens and twenties. Now, keep in mind this was New York City. No one was watching the money. No one took the money. My boys asked me why the money was on the ground in the hat. I explained that people donated the money to help the families whose mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and sons and daughters, died in the 9/11 attack.

My son, Ben, is a Legomaniac. He always has been. When he heard that New York City had a Lego store, he asked for extra chores in the months before our trip so that he could buy something at the store with his own money. After weeks of picking up leaves, taking out trash, cleaning out cars, and such, he had enough to buy himself something at the Lego store.

Without asking our permission, or telling us what he was going to do, Ben dug into his jeans pocket, took out his precious little wad of bills, and laid it in the hat. He stood there staring at the hat for the longest time. My wife and I looked at each other with tears streaming down our faces. In that moment, Ben gave us proof that the values and empathy we worked to instill in our sons had taken hold.

Was it worth spending the past quarter century taking care of four souls and putting their needs and wants before ours? Yeah. It was worth it. And thensome.

The only thing I miss is spontaneity, the ability to see movies, and sleeping in. I was not at all a planner and now I have to plan everything.

I was meant to be a mom though. It all made sense when I held my little baby in my arms.

I have been so incredibly maternal my entire life, even as a kid. It has all come very natural to me, beyond the maternal instinct.

There is a certain level of maturity and selflessness that I don't think you can obtain until you've experienced parenthood; not to say anyone who isn't a parent is immature and selfish, I don't think that at all. It is just different and no amount of empathy can make you truly understand it until you have experienced it.

Yes, there will be days you just want to rip your hair out (today was that day for me, my baby girl is getting her molars). But even in those stressful moments I look at my child and I am simply amazed. True, unconditional love. It's the best!

If looked at just on pure economics, the answer for most people is probably no. In non agrarian settings, children are a liability producing financial costs, not an economic asset for farm labor. This article says 18 years of child raising costs $241,000, not including college (http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/14/pf/cost-children/).

Cheap entertainment. Also you get to play with toys again and no one looks at you funny.