---------------------------------------------
Im busy reading this book called “Maybe Baby”. It’s a collection of short stories written by a multitude of people. All the stories are related to having children. Some people relate their story of how desperately they want children and the lengths they go to achieve that dream (obviously that’s the category we are all so familiar with) but then there are other stories of people who aren’t sure if they are meant to be parents or even want to be parents (a category Im starting to identify with), people who have had children and regret it (doubt I’ll ever be in this category), people who fall pregnant naturally (and quickly, like in first try – very annoying) but then face other dilemmas like abusive partners or their child gets cancer. Its actually a good book, quite a balanced outlook on having children, the ins and outs and how it works for some but not for others.
But there is one “golden thread” that runs through all the stories – in all the authors lives there is one big thing that happens to them in their lives. Whether it be infertility, working through an abusive lifestyle, financial difficulties, dealing with cancer, dealing with ones own parents, dealing with an ill parent, dealing with feelings of inadequacy etc. There is always something that happens to all of them. It appears that life is never plain sailing. The fairy tale of meeting a prince, getting married, having kids and living happily ever after is very often just that – a fairy tale. Wow, how jaded Ive become….(I hate the bitterness I feel for all my years lost thanks to infertility).
With infertility so much the focus of my life, this book has actually shown me that I need to start seeing the wood from the trees. I often feel a pang of jealousy as I see my neighbour’s kids running and playing or that cute family in the store pushing the baby pram and another on the way. The problem is what kind of lives are behind the façade? What is the thing they are dealing with? My issue though is do you think that infertility is a big enough thing to deal with in a lifetime? Because I sure hope it is.
---------------------------------------------
Any guesses as to who my guest blogger is? Let me know in the comments before clicking on the link below. :)
To find out who my guest blogger is (and read her story
Many thanks for Geohde at Mission Impossible for organizing this!
you have no idea how many times I've thought this. As much as I envy my s.i.l. (3 babies in less time than I've been trying), I know how much she LOATHES being pregnant, and how much strain it puts on her marriage. It seems like small consolation, but I'm sure it's very likely she envies the relationship I have with my husband. We've had to deal with some very awful things, and yet, we are the couple everyone wants to be.
ReplyDeleteI guess the point is that everything balances out eventually. Great post!!
I would not have guessed the blogger, but I love the post.
ReplyDeletethank you.
g
I couldn't guess the blogger either. Both posts were good! Oh and that song totally, spoke to me too.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with your post - you actually never know what is going on behind closed doors. One of my friends who got pregnant twice the first month they started trying and whom I of course envy mightily, suffers from depression and does not have the easy life that I sometimes think that she does!
ReplyDeleteGood post!!
Every time we drive down the street and we see a family playing in their yard, I think the exact same things - at first, "I want that!" and then, "I wonder what they are dealing with that I'm not seeing...".
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of heartache out there, and people who are blessed in one area of their lives sometimes have problems in another that we'd never imagine!
I TRY to think that way, as my husband and I deal with infertility. I just found out my sister is 7 weeks pregnant. No problems conceiving. I know she has financial woes. However, just because you get dealt the infertility card doesn't mean you won't get other problems in life. Her life is relatively smooth sailing and I continually hit obstacles. I,too, have turned bitter.
ReplyDelete