Thursday 6 December 2012

Oh nuts!

For a woman still in my thirties it's been lot to come to terms with now that my childbearing days are over. I already have two darling little terrors and although the mere thought of adding a new baby into the equation triggered palpitations, it still felt nice to have the option. I could have if I wanted to...

However my husband, Peter, had other ideas. He had always made it clear that two children, an heir and a spare, was plenty. This conviction was only reinforced by the hard and never ending grind of parenting. I mean, God love 'em, but THREE would surely have tipped us over the edge?

In the end, the decision was made for us; this being the age of austerity. With deeper cuts and Britain's elongated recovery from financial crisis, we have certainly been feeling the pinch. In truth, since "becoming" a poet, it's felt more like an enormous chinese burn. Not the most lucrative of career choices it has to be said.

The average cost of raising a child in the UK from birth to their 21st birthday is now 218,000 quid. Bearing in mind we have two, we are about 400,000 quid short. And when a minister announced that University tution fees were to rise to up to nine grand per year, it was game over. My husband's bollocks had to go.....

"The Snip" by Ruth E Dixon & Peter Dixon



2 comments:

  1. His bollocks? That's going too far - he won't be able to service your lady parts! Try the rhythm method instead. You won't get pregnant if his rhythm is good, like a gorilla.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are my (bollocks) saviour Gorilla Bananas! I'm so pleased your mental wellbeing sounds so much in tact. I'm not sure of your age but I did worry a little for you after reading this....

    http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/water_cooler/even-apes-have-midlife-crises-study-finds

    ReplyDelete