Last summer I went to my 10 year high school reunion.  Out of every one there, I had the most kids.  There are a few people who had the same number of kids as I did, but they didn’t come and to my knowledge, I’m the only one who got a Bachelor’s degree before having my kids.

Others’ Perceptions

Many of my high school colleagues were just getting married or just having their first child. When they found out how many children I had, they often gave me a look of pity and said something like, “Well we want to enjoy married life before adding kids into the mix” or the infamous; “We want to wait till we can afford kids before we start having them.”

Disclaimer

I know not everyone wants to be parents or even intends on becoming parents.  That’s fine if that’s what they want.  I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to be a parent, so I know that I would be miserable if I was unable to have children.

My Perspective

At first the pity looks kind of got to me.  Yes I know I don’t live a glamorous life, I know that I can’t travel whenever I want, but I’m alright with that.  After I got to thinking about it, I started to feel sorry for them.  Even if tragedy were to strike my family, I will always get to love my children FOREVER!  I feel extremely blessed to have been able to love them this long.  No matter what, I will get to love my children for five to ten years longer than those who gave me their “pity” look.  So, I feel sorry for them.  I hope they don’t regret waiting after finally figuring out what this love is like.

However, in the end, it really doesn’t matter.  This is my life, and I am extremely happy with it.  I would be miserable if I were living without kids.