Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Reunion

There are some things that I just couldn't comprehend. I spoke to an old friend today, who is now very pregnant with her second kid. She asked me that million dollar question once again - if I intend to get an office job. I told her maybe not and she said "then it'll be easier to have kids''. I almost fell off my chair. That's the last response I would expect to hear out of the conversation. I jokingly replied that it's even tougher 'cos less money to support the kids.

Perhaps what my dear friend meant was it'll be easier to look after the kids if the mom is not working full time. But her comment reminded me of the time when I tendered my resignation. Some kaypoh, good-willed auntie colleague of mine asked if I'm resigning due to pregnancy. When I said no, she went on further to ask if I'm resigning to 'try' for a kid. Faint. She's really 101% auntie, mind you, she's few years younger than me!

Why do people often stereotype when it comes to such things? One should never assume that having children is a natural progression after marriage. Not every women have maternal instinct and not every men love children. Do not judge by the surface for there are often other issues that are hidden underneath. Next time you meet a single friend, don't ask when they're getting married. When you see a married friend, don't ask when they're going to have kid (unless you want to finance the kid's expenses). When you see a friend with one kid, don't ask when the second one is coming. What has that gotta do with you?

Tonight, I'll be meeting 3 primary school friends of whom I have not met for at least 3 years. As you can guess, one of them is the very preggie lady and the other 2 are guys. I'll be braving myself for the 2 million dollar questions again - kids and job. And I bet my preggie friend is going to ask one of the guys whom just got married when he's going to have his brood. Ha, it'll probably be a session of catching up and suaning one another.

2 comments:

jules said...

I must say i am gulity of asking the same 2 million dollar questions, but mostly due to lack of better things to say to acquaintances and not so close friends. I must remember not to be so "irritating", haha!

Piko said...

Haha...i guess it's alright to ask such questions if you're close to the person ;) Btw, the question did surfaced during my reunion gathering that night, but it wasn't directed at me :P