At 26-years old, I'm screeching towards 30 like a bullet train. Only four stops left to go before I hit the big 3-0.
And with that, comes the pressure to have kids. Ever since I got hitched two years ago, women feel like it is their right to intrude on my personal life by asking this life changing question.
When are you going to have kids? When are you going to start a family? Then they follow it up with, you know, your chances go waaaay down after 30. These women are harmless enough and most of them are mothers, so instead of snapping, I smile and shrug my shoulders.
I've been putting off the answer for so long. I've never really been much of a kid person. Sure, my niece is fantastic and my nephew is cute. If anyone could make me want kids it would be them. But I've baby-sat maybe twice in my entire life. I'm unqualified for the job.
Then there is my life that took so long to build. I can finally add "writer," to my resume, a career I decided on and pursued since high school. I moved 2, 300 miles away from my family to live in my personal utopia, the Pac Northwest and will have no outside help if I decide to become a mother. I would have no choice but to pack a U-haul and high-tail it back to the Midwest.
Also, I would probably be the worst mom on the face of the planet. The all-day work it requires makes me squeamish as does the thought of moving to the suburbs and attending play dates.
Part of me wants to live out the rest of my life child-free without the expense and responsibility. My Saturday morning routine of drinking coffee and reading the Stranger while sitting on my balcony would be replaced with feeding cheerios to a screaming child. Not exactly a pretty picture.
Then there is my newest dream, which is to become a travel writer. I'd like to write travel articles for the paper and then continue to write some guidebooks, and maybe a memoir. This would probably be impossible with a child.
If I finally make the concrete decision to live a child-free life, am I going to regret it? I decided not to even think about it until I turn 30. Until then, I plan to travel and frequent fancy restaurants, living out my 20s the way I always pictured. If I catch the baby bug, so be it, but I have lasted this long without a bite.
And with that, comes the pressure to have kids. Ever since I got hitched two years ago, women feel like it is their right to intrude on my personal life by asking this life changing question.
When are you going to have kids? When are you going to start a family? Then they follow it up with, you know, your chances go waaaay down after 30. These women are harmless enough and most of them are mothers, so instead of snapping, I smile and shrug my shoulders.
I've been putting off the answer for so long. I've never really been much of a kid person. Sure, my niece is fantastic and my nephew is cute. If anyone could make me want kids it would be them. But I've baby-sat maybe twice in my entire life. I'm unqualified for the job.
Then there is my life that took so long to build. I can finally add "writer," to my resume, a career I decided on and pursued since high school. I moved 2, 300 miles away from my family to live in my personal utopia, the Pac Northwest and will have no outside help if I decide to become a mother. I would have no choice but to pack a U-haul and high-tail it back to the Midwest.
Also, I would probably be the worst mom on the face of the planet. The all-day work it requires makes me squeamish as does the thought of moving to the suburbs and attending play dates.
Part of me wants to live out the rest of my life child-free without the expense and responsibility. My Saturday morning routine of drinking coffee and reading the Stranger while sitting on my balcony would be replaced with feeding cheerios to a screaming child. Not exactly a pretty picture.
Then there is my newest dream, which is to become a travel writer. I'd like to write travel articles for the paper and then continue to write some guidebooks, and maybe a memoir. This would probably be impossible with a child.
If I finally make the concrete decision to live a child-free life, am I going to regret it? I decided not to even think about it until I turn 30. Until then, I plan to travel and frequent fancy restaurants, living out my 20s the way I always pictured. If I catch the baby bug, so be it, but I have lasted this long without a bite.
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