Babies and our sacrifices

    Literally 30 minutes ago I thought about something that made me absolutely perplexed. I stopped making my snack to sit down here and write it out in hope that it would solve this mystery that has me in a state of confusion.
    Nearly everyone that makes a conscious decision to have a child has heard warnings of sacrifice and hardship from more than one person. They all have periods of doubt and feel the weight of burden. It actually expected. Nobody hides the fact that parenthood is scary and often a pain in the ass. They don't have to hide it. We see it all around us with children that aren't our responsibility. We see it in siblings, friends that are parents, and even strangers in the local supermarket struggling to control their kid while choosing which set of bananas are riper.
     So my confusion stems from this question-Why do we do it? Why do we hear and see all the horrors of parenthood but still decide to proceed? Sure, you can sit there now with your newborn, your toddler, your high school graduate or your great grandchild and say it's all worth it. That's easy. You already met them. You know it was worth it. Why do we willingly throw ourselves into a certain chaotic life for someone we have never met when we don't have to? You wouldn't do it for your wife or your husband before you knew they'd be your husband or wife. You wouldn't do it for your best friend before you knew they'd be your best friend. Why are you willing to do it for this little person you haven't met? There are thousands of really, really great people that you and I will never meet. If we did we'd be ecstatic to know them and have them in our life but even then they aren't there for a guaranteed 18 years for you to care for. Your child is. The sad truth is that it's not even a guaranteed happy 18 years.
    All of this is avoidable but we still take that leap of faith into parenthood. It's all a gamble from the start. The baby's sex, eye color, height, weight, hair color, and even health. We still decide to roll the dice but I don't know why.