A bit late to the party, but having kids was/ is great. Me and my (now ex) wife had both of our children at our early 30’s. I am 50 now and my daughter is 20, and my son is 18. Those early years of wonder and excitement with children are amazing…The toddler years through 12 or so. Unfortunately for me I went through a prolonged dark period that I think prevented me from really taking full advantage of some of those fun time periods. I did my best, and I think that both of them turned out o.k.
As far as the work aspect goes, for the most part I think many of us are not completely happy with the work choices we have made. Juggling work choices and family are not easy, and if you are stuck doing work that you are not happy with it makes the journey tougher. Many times it is too late…We are sent out on the conveyor belt of college…work…family, and before you know it, decades have passed by at warp speed, and you find yourself feeling unfulfilled, and wondering what just happened, where did the time go, etc. As noted here, some people don’t take that path. They are able to go down that less traveled, back woods, tree filled slope, and find happiness (with or without kids/ family). That was not my path. For me, work 9-5 and family seemed like the mission that I had to accept whether I wanted it or not. I don’t regret it, but I do wish there was a bit more guidance, particularly on the working front
Right after college we moved to DC, and lived there for over 3 years. The plan was always to make it back to New England to be near family, so when the time was right we came back and lived outside of Boston. Right on schedule we had kids, and kept moving forward at a breakneck pace. Architecture was not the best choice for me, but I took the grueling 9 part exam, and am licensed. Like most professional fields of work it is nowhere near asglamorous it seems. There was even a point where I thought I was going to break away from it...
I have always wanted the simple life of owning a small pub, or bed and breakfast type of establishment, but it just was not in the cards. After my brother died in 2004 my wife and I embarked on a 3 month northeast tour to find bed and breakfast that we could own. The journey was unsuccessful, and ended with us moving from the Boston area to Connecticut. I often wonder about these types of choices, and how things would be different if I did this, or did that.
The choice of having kids is a HUGE one, a game changer. For some it is not the right move. I am extremely happy that children are a part of my life. Other life choices not so much, but if I went back in time, I would still have children.