I've long thought that having kids galvanized a person's purpose in life and that is why people reflect back on how it was some of the best times of their life.

I've long thought that having kids galvanized a person's purpose in life and that is why people reflect back on how it was some of the best times of their life. This is in spite of the research that shows parents consistently more unhappy while actually raising kids. I think there is are other analogous dichotomies: people in the military, high level athletes, the way people refer to the bombing of England in WW2 as the "good ol' days"[1], etc. The point is people need a purpose they can rally their life around. They need to feel needed by their society for fulfillment. [1] See Sebastian Junger's book Tribe