Something that gets lost in the conversation about having children or not (I say as a non-parent!) is that as you get older, death and loss increasingly characterize life. Friends die. Parents become ill and pass. It might be hard to imagine when you're young, but (and I've experienced it already) some years, you attend more funerals than weddings or baby showers. Children bring joy -- and a reminder of just how beautiful life can be -- as you see the world afresh through their eyes.