Me and my partner had been together for a decade, married for 4 years, bought a home where we could see ourselves living for the rest of our lives, working in safe jobs or jobs that bought us joy. We were insanely happy.

And then we thought what would happen if we live this happy life for decades to come, and nothing changes. If it was just us. And what we felt then was emptiness.

We thought about it long and hard, pros and cons on both having children vs not having them. End result was that while it would make more sense to NOT have kids (financial reasons, personal freedom, responsibilities, all the risks of pregnancy and child's health), we still found ourselves wanting one.

We knew we'd be excellent parents and how we could raise a good person or more. Our kid is now 2, first year was rough, but it was all worth it. Nothing brings greater joy than to watch our kid grow, learn, and be happy.