Kids Are Like Amplifiers

From time to time, childless and less-child friends ask me what it's like to be a parent (or to have three kids). I respond with some answer about how it's a combination of stress, frustration, and transcendentally happy moments.

I think I have a new answer:

"Kids are like amplifiers."

Yeah, but my kid goes to 11.

You see, kids will bring out any feeling you have in greater force than you are prepared for. You will be more frustrated than you've ever been. They can make you so upset that you will be kind of shocked at the depths of your upsettedness. They will bring out sides of you that you don't like. But they will also make you unbelievably giddy. There are moments of heart-melting sweetness, involuntary awwwwww-inducing cuteness, sympathy, and any other feeling you can imagine, but multiplied by 20. There will be times when you will feel like a hero, a saint, or even a total dick. It's all just more intense than you might expect. Including the depths of just how much you can love those little guys.