Mind Your Own Uterus

At 24 years old, I am a mother of a 7-year-old, who I had in high school, and a 2-year-old. Family and strangers alike are always asking me “Are you done having kids?”, “This is it right?”, “You have your boy and your girl, you’re done right?”. And at that moment, I’m expected to state that “yes, yes I am done. I will not have anymore. The baby-making shop is shut, locked, and the key has been thrown away.” I often feel embarrassed, as though I’ve done a bad thing by having my children, especially at such a young age. And so I shyly agree, “Yes, yes I’m done,” which is a big fat lie, but I feel guilty to say the truth.

The truth is that no, I am not done. I want to have more children and I will have more on my own time. That’s a decision for me and my husband to make. This question makes me feel like I’ve been a bad mother and I should not have any more kids because I will ruin them. Then right after that though, another even scarier thought pops up, that my kids ruined my life somehow and stopped me from achieving things in my own life. Like WTF. And all these thoughts happen within 30 seconds after being asked the question and me responding to the question.

From now on, my answer will proudly be, “Please mind your own uterus.”