Family values

[vaneramos]

A younger woman with a tiny girl sat down across the aisle from them on the bus.

"Are they all yours?" she asked.

"Yes," the other woman replied. "It's easier than one, believe me."

"How old are they?"

"Five, four, two, ten months and we're having another one."

"Wow, and you look great. How far along?"

"Two or three months."

"Are you hoping for a girl?"

"I know not to hope for that. Just..."

"A healthy baby?"

"Yes."

"That's the kind of family I want," said the younger mother to her little daughter. "Yuck, that's dirty. Don't pick your nose. Use your Kleenex." Then she added to the other woman, "But I'm scared."

"It's easier than one," repeated the mother of four.

"I guess they look after each other?"

"They entertain each other. That's the key. You have to entertain her all the time."

"That's right."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Then she joked, "I can't help it anymore. It's like a sickness, I think."

"Are you married?"

"Of course."

"Not necessarily."

"Well, I am. But not by any church."

"Common-law?"

"Yes."

Comments

[blue-by-you.livejournal.com]

I love entries like this...it's like found poetry when you tell another's story.

Re:

[ghostsandrobots.livejournal.com]

Hear hear.

Thank you, Van.

Re:

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Smiles. I like having stories to tell. All this because the bank machine wasn't working last night and I had to go downtown again this morning.

Re:

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I could have made all kinds of editorial comments about this conversation, but decided I would just let the women speak for themselves.

I'll add one remark here, though. I enjoyed how she shot to hell my initial prejudice: "She must be Catholic."

People are so neat.

[mylastsigh.livejournal.com]

thank you very much for this.

Re:

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.

[authenticfake.livejournal.com]

What an amazing story.

Re:

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

People are amazing. :-)

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Well, I have to admit that the punchline I was waiting for was that the other parent was also a woman.

Nice story anyway.

Re:

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I would not want my life to be that isolated, or my writing that predictable.

Re:

[rsc.livejournal.com]

"Isolated"? "Predictable"? I just thought it would have been cool if it turned out that way. Then again the subject has kind of been on my mind lately.