What we’ve gotten out of this Life: Katherine on the Paradox of Female Happiness

I found the article interesting too. I suspect the result of the study must have had something to do with the way the questions were asked, as I have a hard time believe that for most women, how they feel about having children, and how they feel about being happy are very complicated questions. I agree that it is worth a comment and I think you are the person to do it. For me, having children made me believe that I needed to be the best person that I could — initially, for them —and this, of course has had consequences in the way it changed my life. I am fairly confident that I would not be the same person, if I had not had children. And I have no good idea what direction my life would have taken had it not been for them. Happiness just seems not to be the complete answer to the question about what we think we’ve gotten out of this life.

This piece originally appeared as a comment on The Meaning of Motherhood.