Genuine question - do happy mothers exist?
I'm at the age (33) where I really need to decide whether I want kids or not. I'm married and very stable. We own our house mortgage free, good careers, we climb, run, play musical instruments in a band, travel overseas and have a small amount of rainy day savings. We have a happy life. Plus my body has never been this fit. I maintained my healthy 48kg weight at 5"3, with abs and all.
I've always wanted to have kids but when people ask why. I have no answer. I still want to. But hearing mothers talk about their miseries of weight gain, wrecked bodies from child birth, stunted careers, unpaid domestic labour, losing their identities, financial struggles. I question myself, are there really pros to having kids? Do happy married women with kids exist? Is there a married woman with kids out there that also has money, supportive husband, good career, hobbies, sports and a nice body? If not, is it really replaced by how "wonderful" it is to have kids? Maybe I'm just not well informed. Maybe it's deeper than all this?