Kids vs. Pets

Last night while I was taking care of 5 rambunctious preschoolers our lifegroup had an interesting discussion about kids. And parents of kids. One of the ladies in our group (the only woman to NOT have kids in our group) expressed some mixed (read: negative) feelings she had about parents and kids. Denis asked her to clarify – is it the KIDS that she doesn’t like, or the PARENTS? She clarified that it was the parents she had a problem with – specifically, that parents only talk about their kids.

Now, I see where she is coming from. They are the ONLY couple in our small group without kids, and the rest of us all have at least two infant-preschool aged kids with two pregnant women each due with their third in May. As is the tendency when parents get around each other, we talk a lot about our children.

So last night the non-mom expressed some irritation with parents always talking about their kids. And it’s valid – when Denis told me about the conversation I totally understood where she was coming from. When Denis and I were just DINKs, we HATED when friends talked about their kids. I’m sure WE complained about the monotony of talking about children.

And Denis said to the woman, “Jane and I were just saying the other day how jealous we are of you – that you can pick up at a moment’s notice and fly to Belize for a week (or two) if you want to.”

Anyway, we got a call from someone else in the group to make sure that Denis wasn’t upset about the conversation. Denis was at the gym, so I let the person know that Denis absolutely wasn’t offended (the woman’s comment came about 5 seconds after Denis said something to the group about CootieBoy).

This Saturday is a non-kid small group event at the non-parents’ home. The non-kid couple have a few dogs and cats that are their “kids.” I bought this today on Etsy and REALLY hope it arrives in time for me to give it to them. As a sign of “no hard feelings.” I know they have great senses of humor and will totally understand the feeling behind the gift.