{"id":173,"date":"2016-02-15T20:57:29","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T20:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/?p=173"},"modified":"2022-11-30T03:52:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T03:52:03","slug":"why-yes-i-do-only-have-one-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/2016\/02\/why-yes-i-do-only-have-one-child.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Yes, I Do Only Have One Child"},"content":{"rendered":"
It has come to my attention lately that people are becoming very judgmental about the size of other peoples\u2019 families. And not just \u201cpeople\u201d- Moms.<\/p>\n
Ladies, \u00a0Momming is hard enough without tossing judgement daggers at each others\u2019 throats.<\/p>\n
Whether I\u00a0want a big family or a small one, let me resurrect one of my favorite childhood sayings-\u00a0It is NONE of your beeswax how many kids I want to have.<\/p>\n
When people ask how many children I have, and I answer, \u201cone,\u201d the question that immediately follows is, \u201cWhen are you having more?\u201d<\/p>\n
or they comment, \u201cHe\u2019s 4, you better get started on some brothers or sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, oh my goodness, when I mention that my husband had a vasectomy shortly after our son\u2019s 1st birthday- you can hear crickets chirping, followed by open-mouthed stares.<\/p>\n
For a long time I felt confused. Nervous. The need to explain myself, as if by only having one child I was breaking some sort of code:<\/p>\n
-I had trouble getting pregnant<\/p>\n
-I had trouble staying pregnant<\/p>\n
-My son suffers from various health problems<\/p>\n
-We wanted more, but are happy with one<\/p>\n
Then, I realized, I don\u2019t have to say anything. There is no need to justify our decision. Ours- the decision\u00a0that should only be made between me and my husband.<\/p>\n
Believe me, we heard plenty of sobbing and gnashing of teeth from our mothers!<\/p>\n