I am one of those people who concentrates better if my hands are somehow occupied while I'm listening. So during meetings (or lectures, when I was a student) when my mind starts to wander, I usually make lists. (I can't draw, or that would be a preferable way to engage my "right brain.") The lists I make could be anything from what I need to get done that weekend, to the names of every current U.S. Supreme Court Justice, to my Christmas list.
Recently during one of these meetings, I decided to make a list of the names of all the babies who have been born to my friends, close and not-so-close, in the past 12 months. I keep hearing on the news about how the birth rate has declined nationally and in my state during the recession, and I keep thinking that I am seeing absolutely no signs of this trend among the people I know personally.
In making my list, I came up with 24. (And as an interesting aside. . . no duplicate names at all. Odd.) 16 girls, 8 boys.
And when I reviewed the list later, I realized I'd missed a few more people.
Clearly my perception that a lot of people I know are having babies is not just my own skewed view brought on by my infertility. That's a lot of babies!
Recently during one of these meetings, I decided to make a list of the names of all the babies who have been born to my friends, close and not-so-close, in the past 12 months. I keep hearing on the news about how the birth rate has declined nationally and in my state during the recession, and I keep thinking that I am seeing absolutely no signs of this trend among the people I know personally.
In making my list, I came up with 24. (And as an interesting aside. . . no duplicate names at all. Odd.) 16 girls, 8 boys.
And when I reviewed the list later, I realized I'd missed a few more people.
Clearly my perception that a lot of people I know are having babies is not just my own skewed view brought on by my infertility. That's a lot of babies!
That is a lot of babies! When I was pregnant with Ella Grace I counted up all the couples that I knew that were pregnant at the same time and I came up with 15! 15 women, other than myself, that were due to have a baby in 2010...and it seemed that most of them were due right around when Ella Grace was supposed to be due, so I am thinking that October was a "busy" month!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of babies!
ReplyDeleteOy vey, if I made a list like that it may just be the straw that sends me to the rooftop of the closest 25 story building.
ReplyDeleteIt's astonishing to think of how easy it is for others, yet so complicated for the rest of us...
Oh my! No wonder you're so good at managing your emotions and separating your "stuff" from theirs when people you know have babies. You've had lots of practice! 24 babies would put me on the train to crazytown.
ReplyDelete