Pop quiz: Do you want children? More importantly, do I want children?!
AHHHHHHH!!!
The plaguing question of the 30-something, strong, independent woman army. After a “cervical massage” at the doctor this morning and some pillow talk about my current sexual relationship, my new gynecologist brought up the idea that I may want to switch from a bill control pill to an IUD. Because apparently it’s inappropriate to be on birth control for 12 years. (Seriously, it is. It causes melasma, those dark pigmentation spots. NOT fabulous).
Anyway, the point is an IUD will work for up to 5 years. And that sounded totally appropriate to me. I said to myself, “Oh good. I won’t have to consider having children again until I’m 36 slightly older”. Then I realized: When I’m slightly older I will be starting to get kind of old (side note: when I say ‘kind of old’, I am of course considering reproductive years, not general maturity).
Is there some late twenties life station I missed where people make important reproductive decisions? I don’t even really understand how people make definitive decisions about the outfits they wear to work or the restaurants where they eat dinner. The idea of making a decision about STARTING A FAMILY always seemed like something best left to grown-ups. Now, it turns out, I am sort of a grown up (again, in REPRODUCTIVE YEARS).
And for right now, my answer to the baby question is no. A firm, polite, and slightly scared-I’m-missing-out type of “no”-the same way I respond when people ask me about Etsy, or tartan jackets or Joan Didion books, or the myriad list of other things that I respect and admire but do not necessarily understand.
What do you think about the baby question? Comment below.