He summed up being a parent with a simple pie chart, showing 51% is the "most sublime joy you ever felt" and 49% is an "incredible pain in the ass." This might seem like a harsh outlook on being a parent. But he redeems himself by saying:
That one percent makes all the difference.
Personally, I'd skew the numbers more in favor of the sublime. Yes, my little DS can be a pain at times, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
The post then makes a great point that having a child helps us relive our own childhoods. It goes further to say that we relive those first 4 years of life (can any of you really remember anything before the age of 4?):
It's also a history lesson. The first four years of your life. Do you remember them? What's your earliest memory? It is fascinating watching your child claw their way up the developmental ladder from baby to toddler to child. All this stuff we take for granted, but your baby will painstakingly work their way through trial and error: eating, moving, walking, talking. Arms and legs, how the hell do they work? Turns out, we human beings are kind of amazing animals. There's no better way to understand just how amazing humans are than the front row seat a child gives you to observe it all unfold from scratch each and every day, from literal square zero.
I'm at this stage with my son. He's walking now, so he's exploring the world around him. Sometimes he trips and falls flat on his face, but he always gets up and keeps going (after I kiss his forehead). He's interested in everything, even little threads sticking out from clothes.
He even gets into trouble by getting into stuff he's not supposed to, or by throwing his snacks on the floor. Those are the real tests. Most can handle a baby/toddler/child when they're being good. What about when they're bad? That's where the real parenting comes in. And that's when I want to pull my hair out on some days.
In the end though, it's totally worth it.
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