I Never Wanted a Child...

         I never wanted to have a child.  Guess I’m selfish or just smart enough to realize that I am really not good with children.  I was always the person in the office who ran when someone brought his or her newborn for everyone to see.  Nice to look at but don’t ask me to hold the baby – I’ll still run.  Please don’t get me wrong.  I do like children if they are quiet, well behaved and not bothering me.  Now do you see why I knew better than to have a child?

         However, in a moment of weakness, I gave in and, well, got pregnant after seven years of marriage.  Pregnancy was a nightmare – morning sickness for ten months.  Yes, ten months because the doctor let me go a month over what I knew was my due date.  I finally went to his office one day, rather waddled in, and told him that if he didn’t get this ALIEN out of me I was going to kill him with a stapler (which I picked up off his desk and brandished – Pirate!).  After a C-section the next day (and a row of staples instead of stitches – how the doctor must have laughed), I had a brand new baby which no book could tell me what to do with.

         Fortunately, my son was a wonderful baby.  He ate, he chortled and he slept right on schedule, his not mine.  He never got sick.  He never fussed and cried.  He was just the best.  I remember looking into his eyes and thinking, “This is an old soul who knows what the world is like.”  For once, I loved a child.  And believe me, I love him dearly.

         Throughout his childhood my son was a model child.  He minded me.  He did his homework.  He excelled in school.  Oh, he had his moments but all in all he was great.  He carried this model behavior to college and, once again, excelled, graduating Magna Cum Laude. 

         Now, drum roll please, he has been accepted to Medical School at the University of Alabama Birmingham.  He was accepted to six other schools across the nation but UAB was where I wanted him to go (it’s only an hour away not in Oregon where he also got accepted).  He worked hard for this honor and he certainly deserves it.  I know he will be a good doctor, empathetic and knowledgeable, because he is an old soul with compassion.

         I’m glad I listened to my husband.  The world would be a poorer place without my child.  I also wouldn’t have had the pleasure of knowing him.  So, forgive me for bragging, but he’s just the best!

Tell me about your experiences with babies, youngsters and teenagers.  I’m sure some of you are younger with small children.  Don’t worry – they do grow up and amaze you.  And, please, feel free to brag.  We all deserve to do so after the monumental job of being a mother, aunt or godmother!