Hey Mum, push that pram, not your luck

I’m A young woman, possessing all the general social skills needed to smoothly navigate my way through life. I’m polite, I’m thoughtful and understanding, I’m interpersonal and I have commonsense. What scares me is, when it comes time to surrender my loins and produce the fruit which will ultimately bear my name, will all these standards drop to the floor just like my boobs are bound to?

It’s not a fleeting contemplation, this is a conclusion purely drawn from example. There’s an epidemic occurring; mothers have lost their baby bellies and found a new sense of self-righteousness. The pram is now like an Access All Areas pass.

Whether it is walking along a path, meandering around shopping centres or strolling in parks, mothers with prams have the general attitude of ”you’re in my way and if you don’t move I will run you over with my three-wheeled chariot of newborn fire, then I’ll give you a dirty look after I’ve sufficiently rendered your toes lifeless”.

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If you women – and you know who you are – haven’t yet noticed, the general population is clearly disgruntled by your rude and deserving manner. We know that your children are the only things that matter to you in the world, you would die for them, you would kill for them, etc, etc. Surely you can extend a small thank you to the people that make way for your little bundle of joy, the ones that clear the path and straighten out the hiccups.

Surely you can throw a wave to the old guy who stops his car so you can push your pram across the road that doesn’t have a marked pedestrian crossing; surely you can thank the young girl in the supermarket who helps you carry your pram up the stairs even though she is in a rush. But no, all we hear instead is, ”I am fertile, hear me roar!” Well done, genius – we can all have sex without a condom.

Yes, life is a beautiful thing. And, that’s exactly what a baby is, new life, but we all have rights and responsibilities. A baby in one’s arms does not negate the need to be considerate to others. Nor does it afford you the right to be rude or place expectations on society for the way you should be treated.

What about the poor women that can’t have children, the ones that have tried every option available but still have not had success? They probably don’t resent you; they probably step out of the way at a crowded event so you can push your glory buggy through the cluttered human mess.

Surely, at the end of the day with no new life to go home to, they are the ones that need a smile and a thank you.

BLW

See the original:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/hey-mum-push-that-pram-not-your-luck-20110223-1b5pl.html

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