I could, with you

"So I've always wanted to have kids and like..." She cuts me off mid-sentence, laughing,

"Haven't we both always wanted to have kids?"

In truth, I don't quite remember. I do know that she loves kids though, she has, for all the time I've known her.

Hanging out with Cali for a bit today, and having The Little Creature read me an interesting post from the blog of a particular parent got me thinking.

I've always stood firm in my belief that you don't have to be married to have a kid, that there doesn't have to be two, that it never has to be what the rest of the world has decided is correct or best for a child.

For the longest time, I've just been absolutely bent on my plan of being a mother alone. Not because I didn't want to be with anyone, but because I never quite saw myself fitting into the whole happily-married-soccer-mom-to-two-boys-and-a-girl picture. I've always figured the other person will leave and personally, I think it's easier to change diapers and handwash bibs when you don't have to pause to sign the divorce papers.

I've always wanted to be a mother, and I've always wanted to do it on my own.

But then of course, sometimes life surprises you completely.

In my opinion, there'll be that single person who manages to flip a switch that's always been there and turn on a colored light even though you knew for sure that all your bulbs were white.

I digress.

No my ideas and plans for parenting have never been particularly typical, and I don't think they are even now. And yes the world has its opinions, and no, I don't need to shove my opinions down anyone's throat.

But that doesn't mean swapping out my ideas or anything of the sort.

When the time comes, when parenting finally comes along for me,

I want to be able to bring them up such that they'd tell me,

"It doesn't matter that no one liked my purple shoes. I like them."