I come from a peculiar family indeed. My grandfather was very successful parallel entrepreneur, with many ventures under his command. My father was an academic, with no children like my aunt and uncle, until one day he met my mother and at age 47 my father was able to do what his siblings were not. My sister has 2 kids. My 3rd sister is just 14 years old. I have friends who have kids. Myself, Ive always thought I would produce a family of my own, since that is what we define as the good life in Norway. But seeing the struggle of being a parent makes me doubt. It all started with having an ex-girlfriend who didnt want kids. Which forced me to imagine the emptiness that would bring upon a long life... Even those who struggle, says it is worth it. Having kids. But if they are so great, then why just settle with 1 or 2? Why not 5 or 9? I think parenting is great if you know what you are getting into, have the right expectations, know your own limits, and especially if you are two people who are able to divide the burden in a way that aligns with individual interests, so that you can also take part in the joy of functional teamwork. Im now 15 years into higher education, which for most people would be impossible purely financially. And the rest would run out of motivation somewhere on the way. Financially, the optimal education in Norway is 5 years (master). So obviously, there is a higher purpose for me investing so much time (and money) in higher education. Just like I believe there is a higher purpose in delaying this phenomena called family. As we live longer, waiting longer with becoming a parent makes perfect sense. At least for guys, since we dont have the same ticking biological clock. Which I believe is the key to happiness for parents, where at least the sum of the parents age are high. In my parents case, it would be 67. Which sure beats 2 teenagers at 16 having their first child, which adds up to 32. Both parents at 34 gives the sum 68, which allow the accumulation of much life experience, education and a career path before embarking on the daunting task of becoming happy parents :P ted/talks/jennifer_senior_for_parents_happiness_is_a_very_high_bar
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 05:34:13 +0000
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