When I tell nosey people who ask when I'm "having another one" that I can't have any more babies, they unanimously do this incredibly fucking rude thing where they ask "WHY?" whilst salivating over the possibility of a story about some peculiar uterine wasting disease which has rendered me infertile. So I suppose it's kind of disappointing when I explain, through gritted teeth, that my husband has had a vasectomy. But then they bypass social etiquette altogether and say - with a cheeky wink that never fails to make me feel sick - "HE can't have any more children, but YOU can!" Are you fucking kidding me? In what universe is it okay to even vaguely suggest that I might as well just go ahead and get myself knocked up by someone - anyone, apparently - other than my husband? Thanks and everything, but no. JUST NO.
Of course, the next thing they ask me is, "Don't you want any more babies?" You know what? Yes. YES. I DO want more babies. In fact, whenever I think about the fact that I'm not going to have any more babies, I feel a certain sense of grief. But there's a difference between what I want and what I know is good for me and my family. So, Random Stranger full of personal questions, thanks a fucking bunch for that. I didn't get sad and wistful about it quite enough by myself.
And then there's my favourite question:
"So why did your husband have a vasectomy if you wanted another baby?"
Really? You really want to talk about this? Alright. I'll bite. Let's do this.
Because we both have shitty jobs and we can't afford another baby.
Because our house is too small and we don't really want to move 'cause we've spent a shitload of money on this one.
Because I like my car and I don't want a people carrier.
Because SPD and constant nausea aren't really my idea of a good time.
Because the first six months of my youngest child's life passed in a blur of misery and sleeplessness and, although I've tried very hard to block it all out, I know I'll never quite forget how shit it really was.
Because we might actually get divorced next time.
The truth, Random Stranger, is that my husband and I made the decision for him to have a vasectomy together. But he walked into that procedure room alone, both physically and mentally. I, on the other hand, sat in the waiting room trying to write and occupy my mind while it screamed things like "you'll never feel a baby move inside you again" and "you'll never see your newborn for the first time again" and, my personal favourite, "you'll never have another chance to put right everything you did wrong".
Do I want to talk about it? Do I want to tell you all of this? Do I think you need to know? No, no and er, NO. And I wonder, if I did have three children, would you still ask? At what point do I have enough offspring for you to just stop fucking asking already?
I don't know what it is about motherhood that makes it perfectly acceptable for everyone to ask such blunt, frankly unacceptable questions with nothing short of aplomb. It's not like anyone has ever asked me what position I conceived my babies in or whether I did that legs-up-in-the-air thing afterwards. So I'm not really sure why the Personal Inquisition Squad get that those aren't appropriate questions and yet see nothing wrong with suggesting that I start shagging random men in the name of "completing" my family. Whatever the fuck that means.
So, do you know what? I'm changing my story, Random Stranger. I just need to come up with a realistic-sounding name for a fictional uterine wasting disease first...
If you enjoyed this post, you can read more from me on my personal blog, Motherhood IRL.