Aren't you glad you have children?

I suppose one must have children to answer the question, but, tho I have none of my own, I have been blessed with a couple of good kids and quite a number of grandchildren by marriage, with another grandchild due in about a month. All good fun, tho tiring at times. See ya….Gary/wtf

Yes, I actually wished I had more, but my sons are doing a pretty good job of keeping me in grandkids, and three of my grandsons are old enough to start in on Great grandkids, one of these days.

I have always been involved with children, as a foster parent for several years, as an exchange student host, a playground supervisor, child care provider, and a youth group instructor..

I appreciate that my husband and I have been blessed with a child. Our daughter can be a pain at times, but I am sure I drive her bonkers at times too! We love her heaps and would hate to loose her.

I can’t imagine not having my children. They make me laugh daily. They love me and thinking I’m beautiful, no matter what. I also think it has made me appreciate my parents more. I had a whole new respect for my mother after I had my first child.

I have been blessed with one daughter of my own and two step daughters . With four females in the same house, I have wanted ti pull my hair out at times and have had to go outside and scream at the too of my lungs at others…. Would I change things if I could? Never!!! The tears, frustration, worries, etc… Have all been surpassed by the love and joy these girls have brought to my life. I adore my children!

Absolutely! I can’t imagine my life without my daughter in it. She is the very best thing in my life. She now has a son and another baby on the way, so she knows the kind of joy she has given me.

I definitely am glad I have children – I feel that my life has been truly enriched by becoming a parent, that I am so much busier but so much more fulfilled – that parenthood keeps me on my toes, keeps my life in perspective, keeps me grounded.

I wouldn’t give up my son (or the one on the way) for anything. That’s not to say I would LOVE a break sometimes, but I wouldn’t be the same person without my kid(s). Even when I have snot all over my shirt, it’s the best snot.

@ubersiren yeah, you know, I don’t care or get disgusted by anything that comes out of my children – it’s like it’s coming out of myself, they’re a part of my body, my being

The kids were a blessing (and a curse at times) but the grang kids are the BEST! If you think parenting is great, prepare to get your socks blown off when the grand kids get here. It’s heaven!

Glad doesn’t even begin to describe it! I don’t know—maybe I appreciate them more because they were so hard to conceive. I really wanted them. I was planning for ages about how I would educate them and relate to them. It’s better than I could even imagine! I wrote recently about our dinner table conversations—how lively and interesting they are now. How my kids perform and play and take such delight in the things they like.

There are so many issues to deal with in raising kids. Issues our parents could not have begun to imagine. MySpace and FaceBook and stalking and internet bullying, and ADD and childhood mental illness and hovering parents and daycare and everything is up for question. “If it was good enough for me, it’s good enough from my kids” doesn’t work any more. You have to rethink everything, and that is such fun!

Kids teach you so much. They change the way you see the world, and keep on changing it every day. They are the future, too, and that is a serious responsibility. It’s an amazing thing, worth any sacrifice one could imagine.

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. When they’re little, they’re a never ending source of joy and funny stories! OK, sometimes the joy ends for a while—But it always comes back!

I have a son who passed away and although going through the loss was very very traumatic I am very blessed to have him as our son even for the short time he was with us. We are now preggo with our second and love her just as much. Because we experienced a loss let me tell you that I get really annoyed when people make comments about how they wish they didn’t have kids or people who constantly complain about their children. They are a blessing, please think of how you would feel if you lost them. Anyhow that is my long winded way of saying I whole-heartedly agree with you.

@RedPowerLady Sorry for your loss – I just noticed you are back, so glad to see you again. Congrats on the new baby to be.

@YARNLADY Thank you so much for the sympathies and the congrats. :)

@RedPowerLady Oh…..

@Val123 It’s okay :), I just responded to the other question, no worries chica

It is just my life. I am not glad or not, just realizing what an important job it is, the most important of all, to help them make their way successfully. More a sense of fulfillment than glad. If I did not have children, I would just be different, not less or more and still valuable to others. It is a question of reality not really some feeling, for me, at least.

My son was unplanned, and I wasn’t ready to be a parent, but in hindsight I see that he came into my life right when he was supposed to. When he was an energetic, curious toddler, I would lose patience. Then I started working in a children’s hospital… being around kids who were ill or had disabilities made me appreciate that he was ‘normal’ enough to drive me bonkers.

Now he is 18, and I am awake after midnight because he’s down the hall on the phone with his ex-girlfriend debating why they should get back together. I am annoyed, but he’s already on edge, so there’s no point in fighting with him. So I come to Fluther to catch up after missing a couple days, and here is this question. Serendipity. I could have lost him on 3 different occasions this year, so I am glad that he is here, going through the angst of his first serious relationship.

@hearkat My son was also unplanned. We had a daughter and I had a really bad pregnancy and horrible c-section with a bad infection that left me in the hospital for weeks, etc. so I wasn’t really on board with having another. He was an “accident” baby and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t the best accident we ever had!

@knitfroggy I have one like that! It took me three years to get PG with my first child, so we decided to start early on the next one. Took 3 minutes. Sigh. Wasn’t quite ready, but there he was! Truly an awesome kid. His sisters have fun telling him he was an accident!

@Val123 If my son ever asks I will tell him he was a “surpise” not an accident! Sounds better, I think! :)

@knitfroggy Wait! Wait! You had a son even though you drank from a garden hose when you were young??? Just tell him he was a miracle! :)
Yeah, my girls tell keep telling Chris he was an accident. I keep correcting them. He was a “wonderful, unexpected surprise” Which it 100% the truth! Doesn’t stop the debate at the Thanksgiving table, tho. (He’s the “baby”. Being 6“4’ makes no difference to his older sisters.) LOL! He’s just cool….

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc207/Dutchcat1/Chris-2.jpg

Extremely glad. My life is blessed.