Things That Make You Go "Hmm..."

Amna suggested yesterday that we should get pregnant at the same time. Then she sent me this cartoon: http://www.wetherobots.com/2008/04/18/spinning/

Once again, I'm being asked to think about having children. At least once a week I have a student ask me if I'm pregnant (another teacher was asked that and gave the best response I think I've ever heard, which was "No, honey, I'm just fat") or suggest that I have a baby. Usually it's with the ulterior motive of wanting to babysit, or just the fact that babies are kind of universally liked. They're little and cute and everybody goes "Aww" when they see them. Well, most people--I'm reminded of a friend from high school who was disgusted by small children and never wanted any.

I, however, want children. I don't know how many, but a couple, and I would like to get started relatively soon. I doubt that logistically we'll actually be able to coordinate this pregnancy scheme, but it might be fun to go through it with someone else. And as if that suggestion weren't enough baby encouragement, my cousin and his wife just adopted a baby. Which means I now have three cousins with sons, and their names are Caden, Pacesen, and Wells. My grandmother, apparently, is distressed by the names her grandbabies are getting, and not cheered up by my husband's desire to name our son Calvin (after Snoop Dogg, unfortunately).

There are a lot of pluses and minuses to having a baby at any point, but the biggest is that right now we're living paycheck to paycheck and a baby costs money. We're also in a rental house (not like that matters, it's two bedrooms, so we can fit at least one small human into that one). But I have a job, Brandon's going to get a job next year, and there is some part of me that feels like I should be a mother--not because I'm married and it's what you do, but because I think I would be a really good mom and that having kids would make me a better person and a better teacher. Also, my mother is on my case about it too, so the only thing stopping us...is us. And money. And not feeling like I'm old enough to have kids, which I may never. So we'll see if it goes anywhere.