Tuesday, August 31, 2010

"You're never ready to have kids."

Those enlightening words came from an older gentleman as I was cutting his hair at work. 

What preceded this comment was when he asked if I had kids, and I told him a nine-month-old and one due in December.  His face lit up and after congratulating me, he said, "Good for you!  Having kids while you're young!  So many people put it off these days to chase their career."  I agreed, then said it wasn't exactly how we planned it, but what can we do?

"You're never ready to have kids," he responded.  "No one will ever be ready to take on a crying infant in the middle of the night, and no one will ever be ready and willing to get up every couple hours to feed the baby."

Wow.  I never thought of it that way.  But it made perfect sense. 

Who in their right mind sits there and says, "Ok: I'm ready to have a child.  I'm ready for crying, nighttime feedings, spitting up, poopy diapers, constant messes, food strewn about the dining room, baby-proofing everything, almost no social life, and whatever else may come?"

I, for one, was not, and will never be.  It's exhausting to have a child.  And I'm only 25. 

As much as I may have planned out my future, having kids at such-and-such an age after I paid off all my college loans (ha...is it possible to have kids at such an old age?  Certainly not the energy...), this guy made me open my eyes to the reality of where I was at, yet made me feel like I was right where I was supposed to be. 

1 comment:

  1. This gentleman gave really good advice.

    Are we ever truly ready for anything life throws at us?
    Sometimes we think we are..... but more often than not, I'm not as prepared as I like to be.

    ReplyDelete