Maiden Aunt incident #347
Walking out to the car after work one evening with a co-worker, I remarked, "It's been a long day and I can't wait to get home."
Co-worker: "You're lucky; at least you don't have to help your daughter with her homework."
Me (in my head): "Are you kidding me? I'll bet I've got ten times as much schoolwork waiting for me. That I can't tell you about and that I won't get to until after feeding the cat, emptying the dishwasher, making dinner, cleaning up, killing several pests, tracking down stuff for my move, worrying about how I'm going to move without taking any pests with me, fretting about how I'm going to pay for a new sofa and chair because I don't trust the ones I have to be pest-free. . . oh, and the kid thing? Putting aside the fact that your husband's a computer genius and you could comfortably stay home if you wanted--stop telling me how much of a burden your child is. Some people want kids very badly, myself included, even if the closest I am to having anything related to a family is wondering when I'm going to be asked out again."
Me (out loud): "Uh, I guess the schools think they're being challenging if they give a lot of homework."
I chalked it up to one of those grass-is-greener moments. It's funny how I'd rather put up with envy than pity.
Co-worker: "You're lucky; at least you don't have to help your daughter with her homework."
Me (in my head): "Are you kidding me? I'll bet I've got ten times as much schoolwork waiting for me. That I can't tell you about and that I won't get to until after feeding the cat, emptying the dishwasher, making dinner, cleaning up, killing several pests, tracking down stuff for my move, worrying about how I'm going to move without taking any pests with me, fretting about how I'm going to pay for a new sofa and chair because I don't trust the ones I have to be pest-free. . . oh, and the kid thing? Putting aside the fact that your husband's a computer genius and you could comfortably stay home if you wanted--stop telling me how much of a burden your child is. Some people want kids very badly, myself included, even if the closest I am to having anything related to a family is wondering when I'm going to be asked out again."
Me (out loud): "Uh, I guess the schools think they're being challenging if they give a lot of homework."
I chalked it up to one of those grass-is-greener moments. It's funny how I'd rather put up with envy than pity.
Comments
There is NO perfect time to have kids, and nobody's EVER ready for them. . . and frankly if they *are* pregnant the poor babies don't need that "unwanted" vibe.
A friend has two kids. She tells me on a regular basis (remember -- I'm almost ready to give birth to my first child, who we had a helluva' time conceiving) how "done" she is with having children. She got an IUD implanted and everything. She says that's the "responsible" thing to do. (She's not Catholic.) She complains about all the drama around her house (that could be solved if her husband would go out and get a real job) yet lets her children scream while we're on the phone and her husband is trying to sleep. (You know: that high-pitched, puppy-popping squeal that little kids have that goes on and on and on?)
And she says all this to me IN FRONT OF HER CHILDREN. Her son is 6 months old, so he can't understand what Mommy is saying, but her daughter is almost 3. Dude, that's cruel. To them and to me.
To her children, she's pretty much saying, "Yeah, Mommy loves you but she doesn't want any more of you. Ever."
To me she's saying, "I used to want kids too, until I had them. You're a sucker."
Screw that.
Sorry, I know that's not what you meant but when I read your comment I had a good chuckle :)
First--WG, I can't judge people but I can't stand the "have one of each and you're done" proponents. Everybody's different. And frankly I think a lot of people doubt themselves as parents (thanks to their own parents' handiwork). My mom is the oldest of seven and I think she wanted more than three kids--and yet there are probably people who think my family is larger than average and wonder if my younger sister was an "accident". Whatever!
Bingley, I think you gave me the only laugh I had all day yesterday!
I'm sorry; I'll stop babbling; as Elizabeth Bennet said "We all love to instruct, though we can teach only what is not worth knowing."