Posted on 02/14/2008 6:25:05 AM PST by reaganaut1
About six months after my son was born, he and I were sitting on a blanket at the park with a close friend and her daughter. It was a sunny summer weekend, and other parents and their kids picnicked nearby—mothers munching berries and lounging on the grass, fathers tossing balls with their giddy toddlers. My friend and I, who, in fits of self-empowerment, had conceived our babies with donor sperm because we hadn’t met Mr. Right yet, surveyed the idyllic scene.
“Ah, this is the dream,” I said, and we nodded in silence for a minute, then burst out laughing. In some ways, I meant it: we’d both dreamed of motherhood, and here we were, picnicking in the park with our children. But it was also decidedly not the dream. The dream, like that of our mothers and their mothers from time immemorial, was to fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. Of course, we’d be loath to admit it in this day and age, but ask any soul-baring 40-year-old single heterosexual woman what she most longs for in life, and she probably won’t tell you it’s a better career or a smaller waistline or a bigger apartment. Most likely, she’ll say that what she really wants is a husband (and, by extension, a child).
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
another sob story about the mean ol’wumon.......poor thing...
you sound like my husband.......stable, sturdy type of guy.......the kind you love for a lifetime...
I seem to recall Dr. Laura several years ago saying she loved riding a motorcycle, but she had given it up while she had a minor child because it was too risky. I think she said that once her son reached a certain age, she was going to take it up again.
When the final epitaph is written for the end of western civilization it will be noted that people like Lori Gottlieb and Gloria Steinum are most responsible for it. A few others are about 30-40 million educated idiot white women between the ages of about 65 right down to todays teenagers. The next group of people are what I call the super idiots-the types who watch Oprah and think that she has something to say. I know about two dozen of these types of women and I would rather spend my time my Labradors then these women. My Labs are smarter, more loyal, have better dispositions, and take less maintenance.
Outstanding Baynative! I live in Bay Area too and have noticed the same thing. You really hit the nail on the head.
No disagreement from me.
Any man who chooses toys over family is still a kid. Run away, as fast as you can.
I don't disagree, but I'm not talking about consumerism, keeping up with the joneses, or validation.
I'm talking about joy, happiness. Not the temporary validation that comes from buying stuff or impressing the neighbors, but an outlet that relieves stress and provides lasting enjoyment.
And I can relate to comments on what's really important, but that perspective continually adjusts as you move through life.
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