I rarely regret not having kids.
When my biological clock began ticking loudly, I let it’s batteries run out with a sad, silent grace.
If I couldn’t be a parent with a loving partner, I wasn’t about to go it alone, a clear, conscious decision wisely made.
However…
every now and then, I get a glimpse of motherhood in all it’s majestic glory.
Starbucks…6 a.m.
A boy, about 12, with legs like a beanstalk sweeps in carrying 7 or so paper bags each holding a bagel. I know this because he takes one out and starts to heartily eat.
I watch him, as he monitors the cars going by, smartly staying where it’s safe and warm waiting for his ride.
What I notice at once, is how happy he is, his face all charged with impending excitement.
I smile at him. “That looks good,” I say, getting up to hand him a napkin he gratefully takes and thanks me for.
“Are you playing ball this morning?”
“Hockey,” he says, with a great big grin.
I see how confident he is, living in the moment…rooted. A nod to his parents who obviously raised him that way.
A black SVU pulls up as he collects his bagel bags. He waves to me, as he hops in the back with another kid he hands one to.
I rarely regret not having kids.
However…
every now and then.
SB
I try to look back on the good times now that all mine are grown and out of the house. You are right though – I never could have manage without a partners’ help. They can be a handful. ~Elle
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You are very lucky to have had such a fulfilling experience that still isn’t over…granny…:)
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Oh yes! Here’s some news…# 12 is on the way in September!
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You’ll have a baseball team.
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So many stories to tell on any given day at Starbucks 🙂 You made a decision and you stuck with it, good for you. You encountered one of the more manageable ones, but they can be right grumpy and bratty when they want to too 🙂 Having said that, I love my 2 girls in Brooklyn 🙂
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I’m sure you do. This kid was just such a charmer in every way. Polite, generous…happy. I was hooked…:)
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My bestie also made that decision. She teaches second grade, so she gets her fix when she needs it, and some days confirmation that she made the right choice for her lifestyle. Mothers come is all different packages. To me, you are the mother that walks the beat for children of all ages, who some days just need that special touch. ❤
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Awe, I am very touched you would say that about me…sigh
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Our federal government had a $5000 baby bonus here some years ago for people having a baby. I know I am a bastard but the disaster will never end. Our prime minister basically got the votes of many ice and heroin addicts for a day. Then we had PM attack same sex couples bringing up kids. The only thing I hsve been left with some days is a little bit of hatred and I object to big brother telling me how to use it. It is my capital. I see enough heterosexual parents around here to make me puke a bit in my mouth and have to swallow… I don’t know how hatred against gay people fixes illiteracy and domestic violence
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Some of the best parents I know are same sex couples
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A child needs love, safety, resources and role models. Our society rewards some monsters
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That’s true.
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Hope you are well anyway. Look after yourself xx
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You are quite the observer. I didn’t have children either. My eggs silently marching off in the night. I have a warm extended family and for the most part, like you, don’t regret anything, but every once in a while…… Right now I’d kill for a grandson who was computer savvy! My husband’s granddaughters (and kids) are all in Denver so we rarely see them.
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I think it’s normal to have an urge occasionally. Of course most of the time, the kids I observe, as you say, are wanted in 10 states, like that little vixen who kept biting her brother…lol
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How nice to witness a happy outlook in the morning instead a grumbly sour mood. Maybe we’ll be reading about his pro-hockey exploits some day.
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You just never know.
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