Sometimes after a crazy day of snotty noses, playdates, and intense negotiations between Steve and myself about who is going to work, we go to that dark place. We wonder what would life be like if we never had kids.
We imagine ourselves in a posh restaurant, like the Atlantic Grill next to the Museum of History. In their yellow room eating herbed salmon and drinking a cabernet. With great outfits and slick hair. We’re surrounded by other beautiful people feeling oh-so fabuloso. And no one is worrying that they are going to be tired the next day when the two year old clutching his blankie crawls into bed at 6:00.
We would have two incomes without the lion share going to childcare and Babys R Us. We would travel. We would cook spicy food. We would climb a corporate ladder.
Why have kids? Well, it is really nice when the two year old crawls into bed at 6:00. He knows how to curl up just right. It is really fun when we put shirts on our heads and sing a silly hat song. The kids are always up for a spontaneous trip to Wendy’s because mommy has a craving for fries. They ask the most important questions like: Fig Neutons? What about little Neutons? They think I sing just fine, thank you. They get me to lie in the dirt with them to watch the ants crawl into a crack in the sidewalk. They keep the house from getting too quiet.
Many of the commenters, singles and parents, crave more time with family, more time away from work, more time to enjoy life. I believe that if trade offs must be made between work and life, life should win.