Thought of the Day 06.16.08

As the father of two so far and a believer in big families, I often find myself befuddled by the things I hear other people say about their decision to postpone having children. They refer to lack of money, uncertainty in a career, the desire to have “just us” marriage time, being too busy, or not being “old enough” yet, whatever that means.

But all these excuses are really saying the same thing. “Right now is not a convenient time for us to have children.” I have a simple answer for that. There will never be a convenient time to have children. Children by their very nature are fundamentally inconvenient. They frustrate us. They limit us. They cost us, both in time and money. And they are a constant source of irritation. Everyone knows this, but parents also know that they are totally worth it.

And the one nice thing about having them earlier rather than later is that you get to enjoy them for longer and they get to enjoy you for longer. The cost is the same, the only question is how long you’ll get to experience the reward. And if you are waiting until a convenient time to have children comes along, I can assure you of one simple thing: you will die waiting.