Let there be. . .babies?

I really think it's unfair that women alone have to bear the burden of childbirth. I mean, if you believe in the Old Testament, wasn't the woman created FROM the man? So then how did it all of a sudden become that the woman had the responsibility of carrying a child inside of her for 9 whole months?

While watching The Tudors, I've been reminded of this injustice again. Even though Henry VIII was a bit despotic, stubborn, lusty & tyrannical, he didn't have to try to divorce or kill off his wives one after another simply because none of them (save Jane Seymour, but she died of scarlet fever due to complications during birth anyway) could give him a son. First of all, it's extremely unfair for the woman to be punished, for something that's only half her fault. Second of all, it's not as if the baby suddenly changes gender in the middle of the pregnancy by the fault of the mother. But, I do have to admit that people were extremely superstitious back then & they all thought that because the queen could not give birth to a son, God was punishing the couple, the marriage is null in the eyes of God, etc.

So what has this childbearing matter metamorphisized into in our time period? Well, for one thing, before women gained more rights (not only in the US, but everywhere else), they were pretty much expected to stay at home in order to have children, take care of the children & to maintain the household. So being a mother was a permanent and perpetual career, practically. But, as soon as women were given more options, education and opportunities, this whole childbearing issue has become some what of a burden. So what, we're expected to pause our lives for 6 months (because I guess you're OK to do stuff for the 1st 3 months or so) & then another month after that to recover & to take care of a newborn child? Sure, employers give women maternity leave, but honestly, do you really expect to pick up your career right where you left it? And don't you think that the men who started working at the same time that you did didn't get promotions and bonuses in your absence? I won't go into the minute details about how anesthesia is bad for your brain, how you will probably be the one waking up in the middle of the night to take care of the baby, which will make you tired and sleep deprived, which is not good for the work environment. . .

At least male favoritism has died away for the most part.

I'm still pretty young, and definitely too young to make up my mind about a lot of aspects of my future, let alone marriage & childbirth. But I think one of the things I'm going to have to face is deciding between being a family-oriented woman & a career-driven woman. I'm not sure that there are enough hours in the day for me to be successful at being both. . .unless I was some how able to run a company from the comfort of my own home or take my child to work haha. Actually, my sister & I have been raised very differently. My dad was going to grad school in Thailand so my mom raised me up to the age of 4 on her on pretty much. And she went to work at the same time. I spent the first year or two with various nannies & eventually went to preschool, where I was always the last kid to get picked up. You would think that I was extremely withdrawn, introverted and unhappy, but I don't think I was. Being raised by a pseudo single mother only made me more independent and outgoing. My sister on the other hand, has never left my mom's side and she used to cry when either my Dad or I had to dress her in the morning on the weekends whenever my mom went grocery shopping. It was always "No, Mommy doesn't put this arm in first" or "That's not how you're supposed to brush my hair." It's interesting to see how different we were and how different we've become. I think no matter what I decide to do for my kids, they will always have flaws, whether it be the fault of my disciplining or not. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to do what's best for them.

So, who knows when or if I'm going to have kids. And who knows how I'm going to raise them. But, I do know that I'm definitely NOT going to send mine to Catholic/boarding/private school. I had a nightmare about that the other night (shudder).