Most of the conversations I have with my wife begin with the words ‘If we didn’t have kids…’ In fact, so many that I even tweeted to this effect, on 20 October via Twitter for BlackBerry, as you can see.
If we didn’t have kids, on a nice winter’s evening we could wander down to the castle, and then pop into the Green Man for a drink or three.
If we didn’t have kids, we’d have two full-time incomes, and therefore be loaded, instead of having to lick crumbs out of the carpet for lunch.
If we didn’t have kids we could go on holidays without having to consider whether the resort has child-friendly attractions.
If we didn’t have kids we’d probably feel awake during the daytime.
If we didn’t have kids we might look our age, instead of looking like Mother Teresa’s backside the whole time.
But there must be something about having kids which trumps all of these things, otherwise people would never have them. We’d all be too busy having fun instead.
Right now, though, as I type this, I have a 19 month-old on my knee who keeps prodding the laptop touch pad and whinging about something I can’t understand, because he’s talking in toddler language; so I can’t really donate the brain power needed to answer this question. And so, I open it up to you, the masses, the general public. Please finish this sentence.
Now I have kids, I…
Now that I have kids, I have two pieces of my heart outside my body.
Now that I have kids I feel happy, proud and fulfilled every single day!
Now I have kids, I smile and laugh every single day which didn’t used to happen before
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Now that I have kids I smile and laugh every single day which wasn’t always the case before
!
Now that I have kids I buy a sleeping bag for the push chair rather than my first new pair of work shoes in 3 years
I love having a son. I feel blessed. The only reason I regret it is for his sake!!! I worry about our world, and our politicians, and I worry about what type of world I have invited him to join. If I didn’t have kids, I might be protesting “Occupy Wall Street” or I might actually be vocal about 911 and how it’s such an absurd thought that 19 terrorists could’ve managed such a ‘coup. So the only thing I’m sorry about is what a rotten world we’ve brought him into… If only I didn’t have a child, I wouldn’t have to worry so much…. I get why my parents worried about their many children. Life is getting crazier and crazier.