There is definitely a pressure to lie and say everything about kids is great all of the time; that is clearly not the case. I would say that "small" happiness

There is definitely a pressure to lie and say everything about kids is great all of the time; that is clearly not the case. I would say that "small" happiness is less due to the huge amount of work and stress. On the flip side "large" happiness (or fulfillment) is higher. Whether that makes sense is a very personal decision. I'm also very early in the journey. I have no idea how it will turn out in 15 years. I am happy that I'll have someone to hand things down to. I'm also happy some of my genes will survive even if all other evidence I existed disappears.