I wouldn't attempt to persuade anybody to have children, but being a dad has been the best thing in my life bar none. I was that rare custodial single dad to a daughter and certain years of financial struggle aside, I wouldn't trade the experience for all the wealth on the planet.

She's grown now. Today it's a friendship/mentor/advisor relationship in which we play the mentor/advisor role with each other. I give her guidance, and she does the same for me.

She has no plans to have children because she sees bringing a child into this shit stain of a timeline as a moral failure, and I'm fine with that.

She says she may adopt someday, and as the son of a mother who suffered the American foster care system, I can't see that pursuit as anything other than noble.

But really. If you're happy not having kids, I support that. I truly do.

I'll conclude with this - she made me a better person, and for that, I'll be eternally grateful.