acs - I agree that others have it far worse. Notice that I said it's the hardest thing "WE will ever do". By that I meant my DH and I. I know that we will not cure a bad disease or negotiate a peace deal :-)

And as for people who wanted children but cannot have them: I agree completely. In fact, our DDs are 5.5 years apart because we had fertility issues, and that 4 years was really hard. However, since it was not all that rewarding, I still stand by my statement that it is both hard and rewarding for DH and I simultaneously :-) Although as the eternal optimist that I am, I could argue that making it through that rough time was the reward, so let me modify my statement to say parenting is the hardest and most rewarding thing we will ever do voluntarily!

OK, now I'm rambling....