What's Right for You

Might just be the death of me.

I went to visit relatives this weekend, just so I have the rest of the year free to travel for myself. The relatives in question being my father's brother and his sons. His sons, both older than me (one by 14 years or so, and the other by 4 years) have daughters who are 3 years old. The older one had them with help.

I've made no secret about the fact that I'd like to have children, but that's on this blog. My space, a space that my family knows nothing about. My parents, for instance, have no idea what I want and have been told to mind their own business. However, that's not what parents do. And I know that my father expresses his angst about this to his brother and his niece (aforementioned older cousin's wife). As she had help, she suggested that I meet her doctor.

I agreed, expecting a general chat about what infertility means and what options are. That's not what I got. Added to that was the feeling that my cousin-in-law now has, that I've agreed to start on the process of treatment for infertility. Which I certainly have not done. I want to know if my insides are working fine and the same for SO. If they're not, then we'll evaluate options. If they are working fine, then we have nothing to do but keep trying, right?

Well right or wrong, the whole process depressed me. I'm not sure I want to be 'treated' for infertility. If SO and I cannot get pregnant, then I'm fine to adopt. I do not need to have a biological connection with a baby to raise it. Parts of what depressed me are the hopes of my father and uncle, and maybe of SO's family as well, though they do not say anything. I know they'd like for us to have children, and if we cannot... maybe it'll break their dreams? Yesterday, I felt the weight of this responsibility. Today, I'm refusing to. Today I'm even willing to tell my own father that I'm not going to put myself and my marriage through the stresses of infertility investigation so that his bloodline lives on. Sounds cruel I know, but surely my life and choices cannot be held hostage to his dreams?