Sorry I'm a whiner

*NOTE: I wrote this about a week ago- on CD4.. It is now CD9 and I still am feeling happy

I know I have had some serious whining in my last few posts. It seems to come in waves- this grief. It doesn't just wave by day but also, I've noticed, with my cycle. The last few days and then the first few days of every cycle I'm a wreck- then I feel much better. So yesterday and today have been good days. Hopefully, there'll be more of them.

Some Dork Rambling

I'm listening to Freakonomics Radio podcast called "The Economist's Guide to Parenting". Most of the podcast is outlining how little parents matter in places they want to matter- college attendance rates (depend on years of school the parent has attended, not on what you want them to do), income, feeding them organically etc etc. But they do matter in terms of smoking, drinking and child's happiness. And I just keep thinking- we could make a kid really, really happy.

Overall, the data shows that people with children are LESS happy than other people, controlling for other life factors. That is to say, if you take two people without kids and compare them to 2 people JUST LIKE THEM but childless, the ones with kids are less happy on average. The more settled you are in life (age, income, job, housing factors) the less it matters, but there is still a hit on happiness. They hypothesize the hit is because of the stress of parenting. But I wonder, who is happier, those without kids unwillingly, or those with kids. I can only imagine the ones who want kids are less happy- and interesting conundrum.

So I'll take at face value that people with kids are less happy than those without. I think on a deeper level they are probably happier overall- If you asked people when their kids are 20 or 30 or when they would have had 20 or 30 year-olds, I'd bet those with kids are happier- or more fulfilled or something (I'm sure there is a study, but I'm researched out from a school project) I might look into this one day. With little kids you're life is so full of hassles (diapers, no sleep, lessons, sports, school). But big picture, knowing you've developed a person- teach them to read, talk, ski, canoe, ride a bike-- how can that NOT make you, if not happy, then proud and fulfilled?