My mailbox is feeling bloated. No sooner did the election junk mail end than the holiday catalog avalanche began.
I’ll admit I do get a degree of pleasure trying to figure out how I got onto some of the more obscure mailing lists. But I also want to know why I get so much kid-oriented marketing material. Someone clearly has not been doing their demographic homework.
Which bring me to this week’s topic:
People who assume you have children
It’s Whiny Wednesday, so feel free to air your grievances.
Amazon was the culprit this year. I’ve gotten stuff from Gerber and Enfamil in the past. But the biggest culprit by far are people from church. Those who move in and don’t know the story. If you don’t have between 2-10 kids they don’t know what to do with you. Here is a conversation that I had with a new person over the summer.
New Person: (asking the group of 3 women) So how many kids do you have?
Person one: I have three.
Person two: I have four.
Me: I don’t have children.
New Person: You don’t have children yet.
Me: Um no. I can’t have children.
New Person: Oh it will work out. You just don’t have them yet.
The other two women were looking at me wondering what I was going to say next. I just told them this happens all the time. They don’t know what to do or how to handle someone who doesn’t have kids.
Conversations with other ladies dont bother me as much…what does bother me is the little sayings on Facebook
“You havent lived life until you become a Grandmother”
Me- Oh I guess then I will never live life
Poster- it helps if you are there for others children
me- Not the same (plus not what the quote says)
On a side note—yes I have been there for others children, reality is you are still not the grandparent, they also move away and are no longer here
Facebook is becoming the worst for assumptions
Not just in chldren but how many of you assume those who dont have children have Pets?
Nope I dont
How many assume we are all married?
Nope I am now widowed….
So you see assumptions are everywhere
I have complained to Persil several times about the marketing emails they persist in sending me about “the kids”. I’d like to know who these imaginary “kids” are and have asked them, but even they can’t tell me! Every single time this happens I complain to the company. It falls on deaf ears but I will carry on because it is beyond annoying.
Inused to get kiddie clothes ads and offers from an organic clothes company that Inuse a lot. Thankfully, they actually listened and stopped sending me this stuff…
I think when meeting someone new especially women, it’s a natural go to for them. Everyone who has kids feels more comfortable talking about the kids more than themselves. I had a guy who wouldn’t let this go once which surprised me. He kept with it, it depends what frame of mind I’m in with the answer. Sometimes it’s we wanted kids but it didn’t work out. Other times I will say it’s my husband and I and our cat. A friend of mine has told me about some of the problems with her kids which were pretty big ones we are close friends, … And something I said for the first time ever was maybe God spared us the experience of having kids who would be problematic. I know some of the people on this sight, can’t imagine this. I never could ten years ago either, but I was pleased that I could think about infertility I. A different way, opposed to why me. It still stings from time to time, but it is not the only thing I think about anymore. Thanks to hearing from many other fellow travelers on this journey. ❤️