One and Only - Part One

My sister-in-law texted me the other day telling me the name of a book that she had just seen on the Today Show.  It was called One and Only - The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One. 

My SIL is an only child and we're 99% sure K is going to be one as well.  So we were both interested in reading it and I'm thankful she saw it or I might not know of the book. 

Right away I went to the library to check it out.

I cried pretty much two pages into the book.  I'm not even close to being finished...honestly I keep putting it down.  It's not because it's bad, it's just bringing up so many emotions that I wasn't even aware I had.  I want to post more later, but I also want to go ahead and get two parts down on the blog so I can refer to them again. 

The first one was at the beginning and was one of the passages that helped the tears along. 

     As parents who chose to stop at one, we have to get used to the nagging feeling that we are choosing for our own children something they can never undo.  We're deciding not to know two kids splashing in the bubble bath, playing in the pile of raked leaves, whispering under the cover of darkness, teasing each other at the dinner table, holding hands at our funerals.

See how that might bring on some tears?  More on that point later....

The other thing that hit me hard tonight was this:
(Trust me, this happens to me ALL.  THE.  TIME.  Seeing it in print though was weird to me.)

     It happens on the subway, at restaurants, on busy street corners.  If you have just one kid, it's happened to you.  It's not just relatives who have internalized the myth, it's complete strangers.  This time it happens when Dahlia and I are buying milk at the supermarket.  The cashiers fawn over her pink cheeks and applaud when she twirls for them, and then I endure the typical dialogue:
     "Your first?"
     "Yup."
     "Another one coming soon?"
     "It might just be this one."
     "You'll have more.  You'll see."
     "At the moment, I'm not planning on it."
     "You wouldn't do that to your child.  You'll see."

That really happens?  Really you say?  As I said, ALL.  THE.  TIME. 

So here's your PSA for the night - if you ever even think of saying something like that to someone - Don't.  It's not your business.  And quite frankly, it's just down right rude. 

I'm off to read some more of this book.  I'm interested and terrified at what it's going to reveal to me.  I'll be posting more about it later....stay tuned.