One is FUN!

From time to time I get comments from people who have 2 or more children about the fact that Owen is, for all intents and purposes, an only child. These have ranged from gentle enquiries about wouldn't I like more (no, I wouldn't), to observations about how good/kind/gentle/sweet Owen is with babies and toddlers (and I am tidy in other people's houses), to straight up questions about why I am not having any more, to a few pointed statements like "oh, but he'll be lonely" or "it's not fair on him to not have a sibling..."

All of which is, frankly, a load of hokum and/or rude. But more than that, what interests me is how often the more barbed comments appear to come tinged with a bit of...envy. "Oh, I wiiiiiiish I could do that but it's too hard/expensive/difficult to manage with 2/3/4..." Well then, here's the rub: if you can't afford the family lifestyle you aspire to, don't have a load of kids.

I can't like - I absolutely LOVE the fact that Owen and I can just do things together as a TWO without having to juggle as a THREE with a buggy. It pleases the smug part of me (my left heel, if you're asking) when Owen is able to talk about an activity he's done which is met by approval/praise by other adults. Now, it wasn't entirely a situation of my own choosing - although I am glad of it now - but being able to take Owen to museums and various types of outings without having to divide my attention or energy is, I'll say it - nice. We can afford to take him on trips which would be increasingly expensive as he gets older, and I like that. We can spend an afternoon visiting the same 2 locations in a museum over and over again. Am I raising him to be self-centred - an "argument" which has been suggested to me, as in "oh, he'll grow up always expecting to be the centre of attention/not knowing how to share/selfish..."? I don't think so. I'd like to think that he'll grow up, with our help, to be a confident, inquisitive individual.

Or a successful (read: narcissistic) Hollywood actor, so either way, I'm quids in.