The 50 Best Things About Having Kids

I found this as I was cleaning out some old magazines. This comes from the December 2002 issue of Parents. The article was written by Peg Rosen.

I can agree with the majority of these.

1. You get to cuddle in bed with someone who has absolutely no interest in getting lucky.
2. You can buy fabulous clothes in tiny sizes without once thinking about your waistline.
3. Having rambunctious kids in the house is the perfect excuse for why you haven't bothered to decorate (or for that matter, clean, organize, or otherwise make the place presentable).
4. The focus at family get-togethers is no longer on you -- and your offbeat marriage or going-nowhere job -- but on your little angel's delicious dimples.
5. No matter how self-centered or selfish you may think you are, you realize you have the capacity to put someone else's life first.
6. You witness the miracle of a tiny, helpless creature evolving into a self-assured, creative, courageous and completely original human being.
7. The sound of a baby screaming nonstop on an airplane no longer makes you want to scream -- unless it's yours.
8. You discover that you really, really can trust your instincts. They are that good.
9. Kids are your standing excuse to indulge in all kinds of decidedly unadult behaviour, like flopping down to make snow angels when the spirit moves you or speaking in a Donald Duck voice.
10. Your love handles and the bags under your eyes melt away when your child tells you that "you're more beautiful than a princess."
11. During life's very darkest moments, you can look into your child's face and see hope.
12. There's at least one person in this world who thinks you're good at doing everything.
13. You can surprise your children by demonstrating that you've known how to do a backwards somersault for years.
14. You finally understand that your parents didn't deliberately mess you up. They tried to raise you the best, however bumbling, way they knew how. Just like you're doing with your kids right now.
15. You get to put Cap'n Crunch on the grocery list without raising any suspicions that you're the one who wants it.
16. You're forced to act like a grown-up -- which means staying calm when you're hopelessly lost and not freaking out when the basement floods.
17. You really do care about making the world a better place.
18. Kids know how to give pretty good back rubs, and they don't expect one in return.
19. You get to hear those first glorious words of true independence: "Mom, can I get my own breakfast today?"
20. You can feel like the math whiz you never were -- at least until the kids start learning fractions.
21. With all the world weariness and cynicism of adulthood on your shoulders, you can look at your child and still experience a sense of pure wonder.
22. You finally get to buy that Barbie Dream House and remote-control car that your own parents said no to.
23. You can make small talk with anyone who has kids, which will get you through just about any business function, wedding reception, or job interview -- no matter how stiff, awkward, or painfully boring it may be.
24. You have the power to provide security and comfort in a most insecure and uncomfortable world.
25. You take joy in doing things you would never in a million years have done on your own, like learning how to snowboard.
26. No matter how late you are on a work deadline or how vicious the office politics may be, those little faces that greet you at day's end put everything in perspective.
27. You can read your kids the books that captivated you as a child.
28. You see magic in things you didn't think twice about before -- an ant making its way across the front porch or a recycling truck in action on a Tuesday morning.
29. You get to eat french fries and pizza on a regular basis.
30. You're not shy about doing things solo -- be it dining on your own while away on business or sneaking off to a movie -- because you know you're never really alone in this world.
31. Regardless of how evolved you thought you were before having kids, you'll see a new person inside of you, blossoming right along with them.
32. You are able to give your parents the same precious thing they gave you: the gift of life.
33. God willing, there will always be something in your kitchen cupboard worthy of a satisying midnight snack.
34. No matter how squeamish you may once have been about the human body, nothing fazes you about your child's -- not his poop, not his vomit, not his snotty nose.
35. You have someone with whom you can share a hobby that your spouse rolls his eyes at, be it stamp collecting or shoe shopping.
36. You get to read Mother Goose and decide with full adult confidence that most of the stuff still doesn't make any sense.
37. You can decide one morning to serve M&M's for breakfast and become your kids' Pied Piper for a day.
38. Someday soon, your child will teach you something you didn't know; the name of Jupiter's largest moon, or that the beautiful tree with the fan-shaped leaves in your yard is called a gingko.
39. The uninhibited, intoxicating sounds of your child's laughter can wipe away a bad day in seconds.
40. You rediscover -- and actually use -- all those great catch phrases of you youth, like "Liar, liar, pants on fire," "Gotcha last," and "Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah."
41. Amid the endless line, rampant commercialism, and frantic preparation, your child's excitement enables you to once again see the magic of the holiday season.
42. Your hearts swell every time your child says, "You're the best Mommy and Daddy I ever had."
43. You have a captive audience for all your stories about your own childhood.
44. No matter how much peer pressure there is, how influential television may be, or how little you feel you are heard, you are still your child's moral compass, and, to some extent, always will be.
45. You are forced to summon up courage and strength that you never dreamed you possessed.
46. You can watch reruns of cartoons like The Flinstones that you loved as a kid -- and not feel guilty about it.
47. You have someone to bake cookies and cupcakes for.
48. More than ever before, you appreciate what a luxury and joy it is to actually be able to sit down and read a book.
49. You become a morning person and learn to make the most of it -- whether that means sitting outside with your baby while the birds sing or getting more done before 9 A.M. than you used to accomplish in a whole day.
50. Regardless of your romantic success or failure, you will always know what true love feels like.