From a pretty early age I decided I didn’t want to get married or have kids cuz both my parents seemed utterly miserable. For a long time I found it weird anyone wanted to do it at all, why would you want to be trapped with someone you hate who you get into screaming arguments all the time?
And it’s not just me, you see a lot of jokes online about people like playing that one scene from Marriage Story while playing old N64 games for nostalgia.
I think the experience of seeing our own parents be so miserable maybe soured a lot of us on starting families.
It’s hard. It’s tiring. It involves a lot of self reflection and emotional regulation. Stressful as all fuck. Annoying, too.
I wouldn’t say it sucks, though. I also certainly haven’t offloaded my share of the burden onto my wife, either.
The feelings of love and joy I have felt because of my offspring are stronger than any I felt before.
Not for everyone, though, of course.