Hirp Thoughts

Just about every day my wife or I will hear a name we like, and we’ll play the baby name game. We’ve pretty much considered every name, and I can’t really blame her for never giving serious consideration to Barack, Tupac, Dwight or Michael Corelone. The thing is, we’re pretty much sure we’ve decided against having a baby. It isn’t that we don’t want to, and there are days that both of us are head over heels in love with the idea of a little one.

But we also have plenty of reasons, and good ones, why we don’t want to. While I assume most prospective parents have a plethora of unknowns, we have more answers than questions. I know she’s a great mom, and she knows what kind of parent I am. We know we don’t make nearly enough money, not that anyone really makes enough money to be a parent, and we know we really don’t want to be that tired all the time. We know how expensive raising a child is, and we know how rewarding it is. We also know how hard it is, even though she knows better than I.

Maybe we know too much, and if we knew a little less, we’d be more likely to have a little Hirp. Maybe we still will. The Kyd loves the idea, not that we’ve asked her, but she’s volunteered the fact numerous times. She’s also suggested we adopt Porqchop’s daughter. We’re smart enough too understand that it isn’t just having a baby, it’s having a 7 year old and a teenager (eventually) and as great as those ages can be, you can’t just focus on the idea of a cute little baby. That baby is going to learn to walk, talk back to us, drive, stay out late, get zits, get sick, have sex and want money for college. He or she would also make us very proud, have a great sense of humor, take first steps, lose a first tooth, greet us with big hugs, get a first job, care about the world around him/herself, tell us we’re not cool enough and serve as another great reminder for how I married the most perfect woman for me. And hey, having a baby would probably make for some great blogging.

So I really don’t know how most couples come to a decision on this. I understand more than I used to though, as I never understood that just loving someone would make you want to have a baby with them. That really never computed for me. Love made sense, but how that love could lead to you doing something that you know would make it more difficult to spend time with that person, would exhaust you and keep you awake at night worrying about everything and nothing. That’s a little clearer now.