Paul Graham, in einem kürzlich veröffentlichten Blog-Artikel (Ausschnitte, die mir in Erinnerung geblieben sind):

Of course the times I noticed kids were when things were going wrong. I only noticed them when they made noise. […] So it seemed to me that parenthood was essentially law enforcement. […] What I didn’t notice, because they tend to be much quieter, were all the great moments parents had with kids. People don’t talk about these much […]

In particular, you’re going to have to work to a schedule. Kids have schedules. I’m not sure if it’s because that’s how kids are, or because it’s the only way to integrate their lives with adults‘, but once you have kids, you tend to have to work on their schedule.

Well enough to miss some things a lot, like the ability to take off for some other country at a moment’s notice. That was so great. Why did I never do that? See what I did there? The fact is, most of the freedom I had before kids, I never used. I paid for it in loneliness, but I never used it.

Quelle: Having Kids

Für mich sind solche Offenbarungen immer sehr einsichtsreich, weil wir ja (noch?) nicht mit Kindern gesegnet sind. Das hilft mir, meine Vermutungen über das Eltern-Dasein zu belegen oder widerlegen.