I’m at the point in my life where I know I should be thinking about having children, but I’m just really not sure. And if you’re not absolutely positively sure that kids are something you want, you maybe shouldn’t have them?

I always figured I wanted them, because that's what women are "supposed" to want in this culture (and, I suppose, most other cultures). But when I finally stopped and thought about what I actually wanted, I...really don't want kids. Very occasionally (like, once a year), I see a super-cute kid that makes me think, "Awww, she'd be cute to have around!" But that's not exactly maternal.

I don't feel defective for not having kids, but I do feel a little out of step for not wanting them.

Just-a-cyst~ma for Raq.

A few things that five or ten years ago I thought I'd never do/have, I've been proven wrong. I never would have thought that I'd end up back in Virginia, and happy to be here. The one thing you'd think I'd have learned, if nothing else, from my weird life is that you never do know what the future holds. What was that quote about how our ideas of the future are just stories we tell ourselves? I don't know anyone whose life turned out exactly the way they planned it or thought it would be. I agree that the best you can really do is have a bunch of contingency plans. Because Plan A never works! And then let it go and live for here and now.

There was a pretty cool moment, in the face of a lot of pressure from various directions, when DH and I looked at each other and realized we were both cool with one kid. Large families are awesome. Two kid families are awesome - we both come from that, and I love my sis. But for us, and for HKFan? This is the fit that works. She's got a number of cousins like siblings, along with a number of friends who are also like siblings.

Our normal response to people asking "when are you having more?" or its variants is "we're good with this one, thanks."

ION, I just raged at the guys who are digging up the street outside. I've been really calm with them over the past four months as they destroyed our street, created a dustbowl that we had to beg to be closed to public traffic, broke the gas line three times, the watermain more times than I can count, and have pounded on our door as soon after 7am as possible for various reasons so many times. They've got a big job. That they finished most of it and didn't come back for a month, leaving most of the street a crater that could only be navigated by 4wd, fine - probably a scheduling thing. That they broke the gas main again last week and I had a gas guy in the house with a sniffer again? not so great. That they pounded on my door at 7:15, rang the doorbell, and pounded immediately again this morning, making all of us jump out of our skin for a stupid question, and then proceeded to dig with a backhoe near the gasline again? Yah. That's my breaking point.

ION Gronk.

Lots of it's-nothing~ma, Raq.

Sox, that is a big pile of ass.

I would have broken long before. I'm coming to the conclusion that I am not a city person. It is never ever just quiet in London. Ever. And I'm going to snap and start screaming at people and then I will be one of 'those' Londoners.

Sox, that really sucks. I am impressed that you didn't lose it a long time ago.

So. I just cleaned out my profile linked email...Uhm if you've emailed me in the last 6 months, I am so very sorry and I suck.

Sox, that sounds dreadful. I take it you've complained to the company organizing the work? Not that that often helps these things.

I don't feel defective for not having kids, but I do feel a little out of step for not wanting them.

That's an interesting point. People never believe me when I say I don't want kids. It's like they can't imagine why someone wouldn't. For the past dozen or so years, people have told me I'll change my mind when I'm older/meet someone/get married/get bored at work. I continue to prove them wrong. Maybe I'm broken. But I also don't think it's my personal social responsibility to repopulate the world or sort out the UK's ageing population crisis.

It is never ever just quiet in London. Ever. And I'm going to snap and start screaming at people and then I will be one of 'those' Londoners.

Heh. It is a problem. And a big part of why I'm about to move. There's a good reason why the British Sign Language sign for 'London' is a variant on the sign for 'noise'. Next week, we are looking forward to night-time work on the railway bridge that we live right next to. From 11pm until 5am for six nights in a row. I am going to buy heavy-duty earplugs.

Sending nothing~ma to Raq as well.

From 11pm until 5am for six nights in a row.

Oh dear crap.

We have lots of fireworks going off until about three in the morning, I think because of Ramadan. It's like people are saying "Well we're up anyway, let's set off some fireworks!" If memory serves, there's only meant to be fireworks for one of the nights.