I've never done any group thing as I'm generally not a group person and I'd rather talk to one person than a whole bunch of them. Being open to one person is hard enough. I also don't like the online stuff at all. It does nothing for me. I'd almost rather not talk at all than talk online. The very thought of it makes me cranky.

That said, I'm thinking maybe people are more likely to be rude online because the distance makes them feel like they can get away with things they wouldn't say in real life. Then again, maybe some people are just rude. Any facilitator worth their salt should be able to manage that better, though.

As a father of three young children, I'd say it's just a fact that having kids is hard and sometimes it's too much, no matter how much you love them. I'd say it's definitely rewarding, frustrating as well, can be enjoyable, but fun? I wouldn't describe raising kids as "fun." I don't think acknowledging that it's hard negates the fact that I love my kids and want the best for them, and I definitely don't regret having them. But I think it would be unnatural to spend day and night caring for someone else, virtually never having any time for yourself, and then never get fed up with it.

I do think there's a difference between getting fed up with the stress sometimes, and complaining about who your kids are as people. I think even if they're giving you a hard time, it's still important that they know you love them and accept them no matter what (not saying that you don't do that, by the way). And while being positive all the time is unrealistic, being negative all the time isn't good, either.

I feel like people who think you should always be nothing but positive about having kids either haven't had any experience with kids of their own, or had that experience so long ago that they've forgotten the bad parts and remember only the good (aka grandparents).