My daughters are 5 & 2. Like others here, I never really wanted kids, but everyone told me how wonderful it would be. After years of pressure from family and friends, I decided I was being silly and immature. Nope. It sucks every bit as much as I thought it would. My house is a mess, my appearance is a mess, and all I do is jump from one 'crisis' to the next. I gave up 80k a year in income to deal with a 15 minute temper tantrum because I put the peanut butter on the wrong slice of bread? Yeah, right.

I love my kids, I just wish someone else would take care of them. I'm tired of never getting anything done. Taxes? Can't do 'em while the kids are awake, because my 'helpers' scribble on the paperwork with crayons. Can't do 'em while they're asleep because I'm exhausted. While I'm cleaning up the kitchen the kids are drawing on the dining room walls (it was blue magic marker and they were 'decorating' for valentine's). If I try to take a shower, the older child gets herself stuck between her bookcase and the wall while her little sister is climbing into the shower with my and screaming because I'm not sharing the water. I don't even get to use the toilet in peace. Every ridiculously simple task becomes a task that even the old greek gods couldn't top. Just in case you're asking how I'm managing to do this post, the 2 year old is upstairs screaming because she wants me to get her the third outfit for the day. I'm not doing it. The 5 year old is smearing a dirty dish sponge over horizontal surfaces, creating a horrendous mess in the name of 'helping me clean'.

People have suggested that they are just clamoring for attention when they do this. Of course! But I can't perform every minute of the day, there are some things that just have to be done. I'm not trying to have a massage or talk to my personal shopper in Milan, I'm trying to wash my hair or cook dinner.

Post-partum depression? Sure, I believe it exists. I also believe some people just don't enjoy parenthood enough to make it worthwhile. Society as a whole suffers, so society has got to stop shoving garbage down our throat about the joys of raising children. Frankly, I feel so trapped that I don't know what to do.