Yeah it's not for everyone, and I don't think there is anything wrong with people who don't wanna do it.

And yeah, they'll wreck you.

I've met people who've travelled the world. They're convinced (and are quick to assert to others) that you CAN'T be your complete self without travel: exposing yourself to new experiences etc etc.

Learning an instrument. Being in a polyamorous thingy. Hunting. Getting hardcore into the gym. Veganism. Being car-free. Yoga. Religion. Psychedelics. Meditation... Everybody seems to have an answer for some critical thing required to have a full life.

I'm happy for them all for finding their jam.

For me, and presumably others, being a dad is that. I assume there are other ways people can grow into the fullest version of themselves, but for me personally, I just don't think I could do it without the challenge of children.

I'm not just guiding and supporting and growing a kid, I'm challenging and growing myself. Rigorously exercising my patience. Rigorously exercising my body. Finding my inner peace in a riot. Experiencing the mundane as magical through the eyes of my kid, challenging and reshaping my own perception of the world.

It's like signing up for a gym and an intense self-reflection retreat and hiring a torturer to teach you how to meditate and travelling and taking mind altering drugs and you get to do it all with someone you love.

So yeah, it's obviously not THE ONLY answer for a fulfilling life challenge. But it is an answer for some people... And I think parents tend to be incredibly bad at describing THE NATURE in which they personally find it fulfilling which causes others to be flummoxed as to the allure.