Today I discovered something more miserable than being stuck in rush hour traffic:
Being stuck in rush hour traffic with three whiny children in your car.
If you have never doubted that you want to have children, become a part-time nanny for a few weeks. That's all it takes. I realized today that the person I become when I'm nannying is a sad, bitter old woman, hoarse from yelling and exhausted beyond normal human capacity. Today I was that woman, stuck in rush hour traffic, with one kid kicking my seat whining that he was boooored and the other two yelling their heads off, and all I could do was repeat in a tired, pleading voice, "please try to be quiet in the car, guys" and thinking about how if I ever have kids, I will have to deal with this for more than just a few hours each day and wondering if maybe I wouldn't feel so frustrated if they were my own kids because I would somehow inherently love them at all times and think their shrill whining was cute. Okay, I was a little cranky today, but I was so tired from yelling at them all afternoon to stop throwing snowballs at the house and get away from the street and finish your homework and no, I said NO more cookies and only say positive things to each other and it's quiet homework time, so don't make any noise right now and no tv until your room is clean and stop screaming in the house and don't say that word and go outside if you're going to roughhouse, that I just couldn't take it any more. So, I've decided that I'm not going to have kids until I'm so bored with life that I want to subject myself to all of that for a non-stop, year-round shift without a paycheck.
Posted by jujio at February 5, 2008 12:17 AMyeah i'm not sure how i feel about kids either. like the other day i was in target and there was a woman w/ her two small children, and she was talking about how she had to give them baths when they got home. and i thought about it and it made me so tired and exhausted just thinking about going home and giving a kid a bath that i wanted to cry. when i come home from work, i want to lay on my ass, watch tv, and play on my computer. i am NOT ready to give baths. maybe i'm selfish, i dunno.
my plan is to wait until my parents retire, buy a new house that has a guest/pool house in the back, and have my parents live there and be my child care providers.
Posted by: jen at February 5, 2008 7:19 AMI want to skip the whole "raising kids" part and go straight to the "take care of me when i'm a decrepit old man" part. All my friends who have had kids have pretty much instantly forfeited their lives... which sounds unappealing to me.
But yeah, I am gonna get old and lonely, and that's no good. My plan is to push having kids as late into life as possible... and see the world first. Then we'll see.
Posted by: matty at February 5, 2008 12:20 PMYeah, I don't want children. I don't even think I want to get married. I'm getting a major education and I plan on having an awesome career. Plus I could not handle being pregnant. There are days when I resent my cat for not leaving me alone, and I can leave her for a weekend with some food and water. So children would be a mess, and I'd probably resent them, which they'd pick up on. And the world doesn't need more screwed up adults.
Posted by: Allison at February 5, 2008 1:28 PMThere's nothing quite like taking care of bratty children to make you appreciate your parents.
Also, I'm concerned that my inner "bossy oldest sibling" is enjoying ths job a little too much.