Are you ready, willing, and able to take on a job that requires 24/7 attention for nearly 25 years, for which you must pay out most of your earnings, and much of which goes unacknowledged?
Are you strong enough to have your heart walking around outside of your body, playing soccer, roller skating, riding a bike, driving a car, riding a motorcycle?
Do you have the integrity to hear the one you love more than life itself tell you that you’re the meanest person ever, or that they hate you, and to look right back at them and stand your ground and live with their anger because you know that indulging them and letting them manipulate you will only make it harder for them to deal with the real world?
Are you willing to love completely without expectations, and to allow the human you create or adopt to be their own person?
Are you willing to put your ego aside and discuss with any potential co-parent a shared strategy for parenting, and to not debate it in front of the child – regardless of what other issues might be happening in the relationship? And are you willing to do it ALL, should your partner become unable to do it for any reason?