In 1995, as my family was headed to a Wednesday night church service, my nine-year-old daughter decided to take her stuffed Lion King toy. A guest speaker was in the pulpit and during her message, she spoke about Mufasa from the movie The Lion King. My little girl squeezed her toy and smiled with glee.
As in fairy tales, the stepmother is generally deemed as evil: Lady Tremaine in Cinderella, The Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mother Gothel in Rapunzel, and last but certainly not least, Maleficent. These scorned women often live in the shadows of a beautiful princess who sings with a voice so beautiful, forest animals appear. A peasant girl forced into indentured servitude, who fits the glass slipper as if it were made for her foot exclusively—because it was! A stepmother so envious, she exiles the young child to a dark, sky-reaching tower, her beauty hidden from all the land. A woman so evil, she goes as far as cursing a newborn child, as a means of seeking revenge on the child’s father.
Not that Her Majesty posts an ad in Craigslist when she requires new members of her Secret Service, but if she did, here are all the reasons why mums should be the first to apply.
Children, especially teenagers, go through a vast gamut of changes while growing up. Some go through occasional mood swings or the emotional outbursts that are likely to be experienced amongst most adolescents. But few changes are not the part of this development process, yet remain deceptively cloaked under the false front of growing up issues. With this, we refer to the prolonged sadness/ irritability/ aches and pains/ lack of energy etc. It starts interfering and affecting the child's social as well as inter-personal activities, causing Depression. It is, therefore, pivotal to dig up this thin line between the two so that one can take action and attend to it ASAP.
The idea of making a baby… well I did not imagine it would involve an uncomfortably short bed, clinical white walls, a syringe full of sperm, gloves, and the smell of disinfectant. But here I am.
To say the least, my life is a fucking train wreck at the moment as it has been for quite a while. I thought I may have had it all in check at sometimes, but it would always come crumbling down every time that thought ever entered my mind. Usually they say get therapy, or connect with nature, but what if your body, your soul and mind don’t allow you to do that, and each day spent in bed becomes the reason for this suffering. What do we do then? Not a single person’s words are going to help, be it good or bad ones. The bad ones just constantly hurt, and the good ones you're questioning yourself about. Like is this really true, am I really a beautiful, clever, and confident individual. This feeling leaves you questioning the slightest of things, as well as the most important ones, such as your own life.
All of my life I wanted to be a mother. When I was younger I wanted to have kids young. My mom had me when she was 20, about to turn 21. I loved having a young mom. My mind boggled at my friends who had older parents. I just thought having kids while you were younger would mean you would have more energy and be more interactive in their lives.
"I hate my life! I hate my life! I want to get out! I want all of this to end!" I screamed angrily into my pillow. It was not a loud scream, but a soft one with all the ferociousness and intensity from my body of a loud one... I do not have the privilege of letting out my frustrations for the neighbor and their dog to hear.
I'm 31 and have been married for four years to a wonderful man. We have been trying for children for about that time, but no luck. We've been tested and so far, my infertility has been unexplained. So I do want kids, but I get lumped into the category of not wanting kids because of the infertility.
