As a parent myself, I think you'll get out of it what you bring to it. If you see computers and programming as just a job, or if your desire is to be regarded

As a parent myself, I think you'll get out of it what you bring to it. If you see computers and programming as just a job, or if your desire is to be regarded by others as famous and respected in the field, having children will make all that seem shallow and pointless. And this is good: your children will have brought perspective. But if you turn to computing the way an iron filing turns to a magnet, if you take fathomless delight in contemplation, then having children will focus and purify that force. You'll learn to keep a problem turning round in the back of your head. You'll bring it out in the dark, in the dead of night when you're rocking a baby to sleep. You'll bring it out when you're folding laundry (so much laundry). You'll bring it out when you're driving the family somewhere, and the car is silent because you're hoping the children will nap. You'll compute without computers.