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>>The payoff will come a decade from now - or two, and it will consist of knowing For me, the payoff was immediate. It is hard to match the experience of hold

• Vivtek 16y ago
  Well - that's true, actually. There are lots and lots of little payoffs along the way. Just having people who literally think you're indestructible and all-capable will do wonders for your ego even if you know they're wrong. (My son is still a little shocked when he finds something I didn't know.) I have to say, though, leaving the hospital with our first one, honestly - my first thought was: "Holy crap, they're actually letting us leave? Without a license or something? I don't know the first thing about parenting!!" And I sure didn't. But I learned. One thing I can't recommend enough, though, to anybody with kids - take all the time off everything else you possibly can. Spend that quality time with them. You get one chance to get their entire life right, and it's really pretty easy - just ignore everything else, even if just a little while every week. (That's a joke - it's never easy. You just had a baby. Suddenly there are all kinds of expenses you never even imagined, and you know that sooner or later, they're going to need braces and a college education.... You've never needed money so bad!) But seriously - establish a good personal relationship while they still think you're omnipotent, and you will thank your past self a million times about fifteen years down the road.