All my darling bacchas

It's not Halloween or Chile that makes me think about children. Well, not entirely.... would I go trick or treating with my child? Damn straight, given that they'd have to wear whatever I decided, even if it was a headboard :). Apparently one of Mim's friends dressed up one of her kids as a frying pan with eggs and bacon - rotflmao! Truly inspired, methinks....

My feelings on the subject mirror the ambivalence in the rest of my life. I just want the best bits of everything that life has to offer and that means between a year and five, before they morph into obnoxious little know it alls (or teacher does!). I want the soft, sweet smell of innocence, the wide eyed wondering oooooh, skinny little arms wrapping themselves around you in a fierce hug, the wobbly charge to be picked up and chucked about, the breathless giggles, the emergence of a distinct personality, wrinkled noses,triumphant tadaahs!, little noses and tiny teeth, the puppy like excitement at a treat or even when they see you at the end of a long day, the heavily knitted brows at your explanation, the endless curiosity and whys (well.....), the victory of a difficult word remembered, the endless joy of a cheap, plastic watering can, the burgeoning independence that still lets them fall asleep in your arms....

Naturally, this does entail any morning sickness, waddling or imitating a beached whale. I have a low threshold of pain so contractions are unacceptable. And appalling cranky child behaviour will be dealth with, just not on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, or when I'm travelling, or before 8 am, or when I'm reading, or during a charity fundraiser, or....... think I'll work on my business plan for Rentakid.com. Wait. Is that otherwise known as a babysitter??? Perhaps I should just stick with my BorrowAMan circulating library plan. Just as well theres no clear line of sight in the fallopian region logistically speaking, or a doting male parent on the horizon, not to mention, a marked preference for some of the bacchas that already litter my space....

An intruiguing conundrum: Can a woman who has said, "If I ever had a daughter, I would want her to be exactly like you" and meant it, have a baby without rendering it a traumatised toddler if they're not???? And is that any better than the traditional dysfunctional Hungarian family syndrome, What if I don't like my child?? Tch Tch. Providential then, that the lease forbids pets of any description.....