Don't You Dare Have Kids Until You Read This A Book of Questions for Parents-To-Be

Why Is This Book Necessary? One of the greatest things about shopping for food on a day when it's one hundred degrees outside is that moment when you walk through the doors of the supermarket and first feel that charge of icy air wrap around your entire body. From that moment on I look forward to a pleasurable shopping adventure, as my senses are tantalized with the crisp coolness of the air, the bright new colors of the seasonal fruits, and the seductive aroma of the freshly baked bread and pastries. It's no wonder I always spend more money than I plan to. On one occasion like many others, my wife and I were shopping together in midafternoon. Phaidra began at the top of the shopping list she had diligently prepared, and I let my nose do the leading, which invariably led to feelings of guilt about things that should not have gone into the cart, and a reprimand from my wife as she patted my gut. My rationalizations about working out enough to compensate didn't hold water with Phaidra, but I tried to sway her by showering her with affection, telling her I loved her and how great she looked. I finally sealed the con with a tender kiss, hoping that this would take her mind off my indulgence. As I stood in the middle of the aisle showing affection to Phaidra, out of nowhere came a little kid running at a hundred miles per hour. He dashed by and stepped on my foot. Hot on his trail was a vexed mother with blood visibly pumping through the veins in her forehead and neck, her steely eyes fixed on her prey. She was gaining on him, the back of her right hand poised to strike the kid into oblivion. I turned to Phaidra and said, "Yeah, we're having kids real soon." My wife and I have had this conversation many times. We ask ourselves why we would want to exchange a relatively stress-free life for one filled with diapers, runny noses, public embarrassments, sleep deprivation, medical costs, worry, and the destruction of personal property and clothing, not to mention sprints down the supermarket aisle like a ferocious African wildcat after its victim. Why does anyone have children? Is it because everyone else does? Is there a religious motivation? Maybe there are those who have never imagined not having children and look forward to the promise of some real or imagined measure of fulfillment. I was raised as the second eldest of eleven children in Victoria, Australia. I cannot even begin to comprehend what raising us must have been like from my parents' perspective. What I can tell you is that my mother was and is an angel in human form. She was always available when I got home from school; she listened to my stories of the day and helped me with my homework. Mother was there to mend a broken heart and wipe away the blood from all the cuts and bruises that I seemed to get on a daily basis. She showed, then and now, the care and concern of a compassionate nurse and the tenderness and patience of . . . well, a loving parent. She fits the very definition of selflessness, having devoted her entire life to her children. While some mothers say, "I need my own life," my mother declared that we were her life. She gave and gave and still continues to give, for her evolved nature and great interest in ensuring a sense of humaneness in her little part of the world mean that she knows no way but unconditional devotion. If you need a measure to determine greatness in a mother, in a woman, she is it! In my mind, all great mothers must be compared to my Mum. My father, in turn, was the breadwinner. He worked long hours, only to come home to misbehaving children that he had to discipline. We weren't always bad, but when we were it was his duty to mete out the punishment. Even so, he always hugged us and expressed love afterward. I respected that as I thought about it later in life. What my dad was telling me by doing this waDonaldson, Corey is the author of 'Don't You Dare Have Kids Until You Read This A Book of Questions for Parents-To-Be', published 2003 under ISBN 9780609809129 and ISBN 0609809121.