Yael, I don't know how you do it

If nothing else, adopting Grace and Pookie Monster has shown me that there is no way in hell I'm going to want to have children. Some people say it's a maturity thing, others say it's a maternal thing, and all the people I talk to say that I'll eventually grow to want it.

While I'm willing to concede the point that I may in fact one day have children, and maybe even want to, I don't feel like people think that it's a valid choice for a woman to not have children - even in this day and age. No matter how nice the people I talk to are, I still feel like they're patting my childish little head with that knowing smile every time I say "no" to the whole concept of birthing a brood of young heathens.

These days my life is consumed with care for my two little charges and, unlike human children, they will never be able to help out with chores around the house as they grow older. (Unless covering the living room couch with fur or crapping on the floor ever become household chores.) This means that they are in fact helpless and dependent upon me for at least the next decade. I will simply have to learn how to be a nice mommy when I'm exhausted and all I really want to do is kick a baby bunny in the face (note to animal lovers: it's called "exaggeration").

I simply can't imagine how my friends who have had children (Christy, Yael, Tyler and Saleah) manage. Seriously. Not a single one of them is a stay-at-home parent. Christy spent a long time being the only salary-earner in her home, and Yael, Tyler and Saleah have maintained full-time jobs for as long as I've known them.

Right now, I only have to survive Anthony's ten-day vacation taking care of two animals and I'm ready to collapse. Somewhere between working full-time, cleaning up after myself, and studying for the FS Exam, I'm ready to shoot the cute, fuzzy animals.

I can't begin to fathom the stress of having a human child. My experiences these past few days have only led me to conclude that when Anthony starts traveling with the Secretary's Detail this Fall and I'm working and schooling full-time, I am going to need some serious meds to prevent myself from going postal.

All of you who are full-time parents and full-time employees, and manage to do it without breaking out the semi-automatic weaponry, to you I bow down. You are my heroes.