Reading back on my comments I realized that I may have come across as anti-kid, which is about as far from the truth as can be. I have three kids of my own from my first marriage, and I married a women (a saint, really) who had 2 kids of her own. After a fashion we were the Brady Bunch.
One of my main criteria when I chose my current mate was being a good parent because that was very much part of my identity at the time. If raising one kid is difficult, raising kids in a blended family takes that difficulty to a whole different level.
But I very much am who I am today in part because of my kids. Today, they all still live in SD County and a couple of them are still at home (students). Someone mentioned earlier that the heavy committment lasts for 2 decades; but really, there is no end to it. Once you’re a parent, you’re never really “free” of it. There’s only variations of involvement, depending on how well you’ve built your relationships.
As for the three? You can blame my ex for that – I do.
