18 Parents Reality Raising Kids

1.

“Do you have hobbies? Do you have friends? Forget all that — I’m not kidding. Once you have kids, your friends will disappear almost immediately, you will no longer have the energy for your hobbies, and your own parents WILL NOT be as helpful as you assume they are going to be. So, prepare yourself. Sometimes all you will want is a couple of hours to breathe, and you will not be able to have this. Even if someone watches your kids for a short time, they will be texting you a lot of questions — and it will be annoying to you (but you will be worried, too). It is completely and totally mentally and emotionally draining. I LOVE my kids, but they burn you out to your core.”

“By the time they are old enough to be a bit more independent, you will wake up and realize you don’t even know who you are anymore. Your friendships are gone, nothing is interesting anymore, and all you really know is a constant and aching exhaustion. 

It’s a noble undertaking, because it really does require that you be almost totally selfless. When older people tell you: ‘It’s a big commitment!’ they need to go into detail, and be realistic about it.”

—u/Rivvin