Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my first at 25 and honestly life before kids was meaningless. I love being a parent, and will miss my kids when they leave.

Why the eyeroll? Surely you can accept that some people feel this way? Just as some people don't want kids and are perfectly happy childless?

I didn't have my child until I was 42, so basically had 20 years post college to do whatever the heck I wanted, I'm completely fine with that not being the case now.

Life goes in phases. Before that you were in college, before that high school, etc. It keeps changing as the kids get older, and then they grow up and move away and things change again.

Anonymous wrote:Is this stealth marketing for “This Is 40”

The movie that came out 8 years ago? Yes

Is this stealth marketing for “This Is 40”

Yes, especially during this quarantine I think about what I’d be doing if I didn’t have kids. Lounging around, cooking fancy meals, long hikes, binging Netflix. I’d love quarantine without kids!

I have two, 5 and 1, and a bit more time alone with DH would be welcome but it's kind of our own doing. We should be better at planning dates, etc. I don't find it overwhelming or in any way like most of the aspects of my former life are gone. The only really big one is that we can't travel by ourselves. Once kids are big enough for sleepaway camp or grandparents/cousins camp, then I think that itch will be scratched too. Overall, no regrets!

Anonymous wrote:I’m coming up on 40 as well. I think of it every now and again, but not often. We are right around halfway through our years with kids at home. Our oldest is 12, and the youngest is 6. So, we are just in the thick of it, and life without kids at home seems very far away on either end.

Same here!

I’m coming up on 40 as well. I think of it every now and again, but not often. We are right around halfway through our years with kids at home. Our oldest is 12, and the youngest is 6. So, we are just in the thick of it, and life without kids at home seems very far away on either end.

Anonymous wrote:I had my first at 25 and honestly life before kids was meaningless. I love being a parent, and will miss my kids when they leave.

I am sometimes wistful when I think about how uncomplicated our life was when we first met. I don't know if I miss not having kids or in general how easy things were. We paid $600/month rent and met our friends at the bar almost every night. Those things wouldn't be possible today even if we didn't have kids. Lives get busier for everyone.

When they were young I missed all the spontaneous traveling we did. But now they're elementary schoolers and traveling with them isn't that bad.

I had my first at 25 and honestly life before kids was meaningless. I love being a parent, and will miss my kids when they leave.

My husband and I were very very young parents. Not exactly the same as you, but we are looking forward to being 40 and finally having a minute to ourselves.

I'm almost 40 and sometimes I will have a glimmer of a memory where DH and I were walking around Urban Outfitters looking at rediculous crap and I think how different our life is now with young kids. Does anyone else do this?