There are engagements and pregnancies everywhere at the moment. Is it a spring thing? I guess it might be, and I am of course delighted for all concerned, whichever order they are happening in.
But I still find the whole business a bit alien, and then get stuck on whether I am a bit alien for finding it so. So I was interested to hear of a week long series of plays on Radio 4 about women who don't have children -- all called, appropriately enough, 'Childless'.
I made a special effort to listen to the first one tonight. And tie my tubes if it wasn't the most heavy handed, un-nuanced thing I think I have ever heard on the subject. Woman doesn't have children of her own because she devoted to life as NGO worker in Third World. Extended family member has four children and is screechy about their needs and rights at expense of adult interests. Husband of extended family member tries to get off with NGO worker because wife only cares about children and NGO worker has kept the faith.
At the end it said 'if you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this play etc etc confidential etc etc'. I wanted to ring up and say 'Oh purlease. How is this sort of simplistic cant supposed to help anyone deal with any issues at all?'.
But I thought no, I better not block up the helpline just in case there are people with way more work to do on this issue than me. On the whole, it made me feel better, not worse, so there's something to write home about.
joella
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