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The Little One
Dear obvious, I think that to some extent we agree -- with, or without, children people are not one thing or another but fall somewhere on a spectrum from saint at one end to jerk on the other. I think you may have taken my comment regarding Mother Teresa wrongly. My point was that, as Joaquin said, "learning to live your life for others. The joy of becoming less and less self-centered and more and more devoted to other people, and "It is in giving that we receive." does not require having children. If one desires to be a selfless person, a person dedicated to helping others, a person who takes joy in giving rather than receiving, then that is what one does. It has nothing to do with whether or not one has children. Like jen and snackycakes, I am not opposed to other people having children -- loving them, teaching them, marveling at them, enjoying the patter of their little feet in the house, or whatever other satisfactions one may derive from child rearing, but it is not for me. And just as I respect a person's decision to have kids, and believe them when they talk of the joy and satisfaction they get from raising a child, I would appreciate that one not be so presumptuous and condescending as to imply that I do not have the intellectual capacity to know what brings ME satisfaction and fulfillment in MY life and, even worse, to have one suggest that they know better than I do. It would be like a meat-eater suggesting to a vegetarian that they cannot possibly have a satisfying life without eating meat.— May 10, 2008 8:51 a.m.
The Little One
Joaquin suggests, "BTW, there's more to that joy and fulfillment than the happiness of watching a three-year-old dance around the living room or receiving a hug from said three-year-old. There's also the joy of learning to live your life for others. The joy of becoming less and less self-centered and more and more devoted to other people, the joy of learning the meaning of the old expression, "It is in giving that we receive."" To which I scratch my head and think, Hmmm... I'm pretty sure Mother Theresa never had children.— May 9, 2008 4:52 p.m.