2012
To Reproduce or Not to Reproduce
I used to have these thoughts in my head of having a couple of kids in my early twenties…now at 35 and no kids to be seen the question came up in a more serious nature in the summer of 2011. Annie and I spent a little bit of time here and there chatting about the why’s and why not’s of us actually committing to having a baby. Should we reproduce???
Why Reproduce???
The why’s of having a baby were to experience that amazing event and have that bond that a parent and child can have, as well as hopefully raise a child that can become part of the solution to this world and add awesomeness to it. The why not’s were, for me, based in fear and also the selfishness that I’ve had 35 years to perfect. We were just getting to the point of being able to travel more and that has become an important part of what I want to do so I didn’t want to lose it. We also attend so many wineries, wine events, and wine related parties that giving that up would be hard as well.
After many conversations we convinced ourselves that “we will be different” and once the baby is somewhere between 3 and 12 months we would be able to get back in to some travel and in regards to all the wine stuff…baby in a backpack seems to be a good option, or we get a babysitter.
It is not our intent to take the easy way out and sit at home until our child is ten or fifteen years old, our intent is to get out there and continue the adventure that Annie and I started over five years ago and let the baby have those experiences. Will we miss out on some adventures? Yes. Will some adventures be replaced by other adventures? Yes. Will it be more difficult to do these adventures with a baby and baby gear? Probably.
But one overriding motivation is when I hear parents and non-parents tell us that this will be the end of all the fun adventures that Annie and I partake in. THAT pushes me to “do things differently”!! I understand we’ll be tired and the baby will have his own “schedule”. I also understand that packing all that “baby gear” up and the lack of sleep may humble us…but life is not easy and to top it off, as many of you know, life is quite short. If I thought that having a baby was going to end my life as I know it I would have decided against it.
This is not an anchor, it’s a gift. So maybe we’ll visit a few less wineries and a lot more of Disneyland…who knows, but this adventure does not end; which is why the tag line on this site is “let the adventure begin”. As I’ve discussed so many times on Hoot n Annie and Matthew Liberty, life is choices, we can let circumstance and situations beat us down or we can own them!
So, to all the naysayers…I hear ya, but there’s no need to try and douse our motivation out with your personal experience, let us live our adventure and be encouraging of our journey!!
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lol Oh my gosh, this is just the BEGINNING of your adventure, Matt!! It doesn’t have to be dull and boring. The fun certainly doesn’t have to end. You adjust and figure it out as you go. You just get to add the baby to the excitement!!
@MimiBakerMN You rock Mimi…you always have that upbeat, fun comment to add!! Every time I think about this little dude joining our party I get so excited that it verges on being overwhelming! Can’t wait…and thank YOU!!