trangbang68 said:

“The joy I find in my wife of 27 years and four children is the joy of shared life and posterity; it’s the antithesis of self absorption.”

I was extremely fortunate to find a wife who has tolerated me for over 20 years (and still counting) and also provided me with beautiful children. My life would have been so empty and pointless if I didn’t have my wonderful wife and children. What I enjoy most about being a father is the license to be a kid again. I can go to the playground and ride the slide with my daughter or do shoot-em ups with my son at the Laserquest. The kids and I can sit around and watch cartoons together (something I’d never do if I was a single guy). It amazes me how many of the old Warner Brothers cartoons that I can still remember. Also some of the new cartoons are pretty darn good, e.g. “the Avatar” and “Invader Zim”.

I feel so bad for my friends and classmates who were unable to establish a family. I know that many of them would have made excellent husbands and fathers. So much of the family thing is driven by luck, e.g. finding the right woman, not having fertility or health issues, etc. It scares me to think of some of the women that I dated before I found my wife (Love is blind).