Sooner or later?

It’s World Cup season and I’m tired – not because I have been staying up till 4am to catch matches, but because life has been kicking my butt. Life right now is the constant screams of “BRYAN!!!!” at home because girls and dog sometimes don’t get along, my mobile beeping and ringing off the hook, my work email pinging in new messages seconds after I manage to clear the backlog, and my poor abandoned cross-stitch project staring at me balefully from atop the piano. There is not enough time to breathe.

K and I always visit the topic of whether it’s better for women to have their babies earlier or later. I belong to the former category of mothers – married at 21, first baby at 23, second baby four years later, and in between all that I changed jobs quite a few times because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my career, such as it were. I also took breaks totalling two years because of the babies. Now that both Alison and Zoe are quite big and independent, I’ve entered into the next phase of my life, which stretches 30-odd years ahead of me. This is where I work and work and work and try to get somewhere, not because I really want to but because doing so provides some sort of guarantee that our retirement years will not be fraught with financial worries.

My friends are only just now getting married and having babies. They’ve had years to do whatever they like and enjoy the finer things in life without worrying about milk money. Now they have to give it all up for colic, poopy diapers and teething. I’ve done all that in my twenties, but I haven’t travelled anywhere much, haven’t had time to do the things I want to do like take knitting lessons, dive more, go backpacking, learn a foreign language for longer than 2 months. No, I’ll get to do all that in, maybe, six to 10 years’ time.

You gotta wonder which is the better option. And why does all this remind me of “I’ve Never Been to Me?“

26. June 2010 by Jean
Categories: Life at large, Work | 4 comments

Comments (4)

  1. J says June 26, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    *hugs*
    But you could also be a singleton and not have anything to show for it too.
    Is that worse?

  2. kachunknorge says June 26, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    We all have our stages in life. The trick is to recognise and appreciate your own greenery for what it truly is.

  3. woollendrums says June 26, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    That’s exactly how I feel too. But at least you’ve gone back into the working world. I’m still waiting for the kids to be a little older! And hey, you travel A LOT more than I do :P Guess the grass always seems greener on the other side!

  4. A says June 28, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Seriously? Your life seems so glamourous… you’re working, have your “own” money, have help at home, two gorgeous girls, a great hubby, seem to have loads of holidays (much more than me!!!!).

    I also don’t think you can really plan when things are going to happen. Love and kids happen when they want to. You seem blessed with a lot, and I am sure many are envious of what you have :) I agree, it always seems greener on the other side :)