I was on the fence. Before kids, I was following a career (if you can call it that) that had me travelling a fair amount, staying up late, just generally being young and irresponsible. On top of that, I was young- got married at 24, first kid at 26. So I wasn't sure about getting started so early.

On the other hand, my wife had made it clear way back when we started dating that she loved babies, and she wanted them early. Not in a creepy "let's get this party started" way, it's just always how she related to the world. Knew she wanted to work in L&D. Had Anne Geddes pics up in her dorm room (okay, that was pretty fucking creepy, have you seen that shit?). So I knew what I was getting into.

The transition was tough in a lot of ways- most prominently in terms of self identity. Make no mistake, having a kid changes a lot of bidness, both environmentally and internally.

In that regard, parenthood isn't for everybody. Some people, male and female, just aren't cut out for the demands and structural changes that come with parenthood. So I'm very careful not to push having kids on anybody unless they're already thinking about it.

With those caveats out of the way: I'm tired all the time, I have two hours every night to just do what I want, I don't really go out much anymore... and I've never been as globally happy and fulfilled as I am now, surrounded by my family. Kids can be tough logistically, but logistics (and logic) mean very little in the face of such a profound and unequivocal love.

The memory I cherish above all- and I've got a lot of great memories at this point- is that of my first daughter being born. The event itself was nothing much to write home about- bright OR, lots of people, big cut, screaming baby, here-hold'er. But what makes it my best memory is the snowballing effect that event had over my entire life. The ramifications become bigger every day, as I look at her growing and interacting and nourishing me as I do the same for her and her siblings (that birth was neat too, but in some ways another causal offshoot of the first, which is why I didn't fold it into the "best memory" statement). So the event wasn't as huge as everything that causally came after, and that makes that memory the best. Such a small piece of time that changed so much in such a beautiful way.

There's nothing easy about parenting, but the best rewards in life aren't often won easily. It's not for everybody, but it's everything for me. It's made me a better person, and there's no greater joy than to watch my kids grow. We'll see how great that feels when they're teenagers, though.