Answering nosy questions...

because we feel the need to explain ourselves is what Jules over at Everyday Mommy wrote about a few days ago. Jules has one son, LoveBug, and apparently runs into strangers who feeling the love, feel the need to delve into her reproductive plans. She posted that two frequent questions she receives are "Is he your only one?" and "Will you be having another one?"

I wish my suggestions for snappy repartee to use could have been more clever because this is a situation common to my own experience. (Jules, I blame the 3 day tension headache. I'll try harder next time.)

I have three wonderful sons. Whom all look nothing alike to one another. Two do not even look alike to me at all. Because two were adopted. The two whom were adopted are only 7 1/2 months apart in age. Can you even imagine the questions I received?

Actually, it became great fun to hear the inquiring minds whom had to know just what was going on in my boudoir--or so they thought.

When future great one was 3 years old and future great two was 2 1/2 years old, I was pregnantly large with future great three. It was voting day, and the polls were wo-manned by several grandmotherly Daughters of the Revolution types.

Enter waddling and wrestling two wrestling with each other toddlers:
DAR: "My goodness, you do have your hands full."
Me: "Yes, thank you. Here is my ID."
DAR: "Are these both yours?"
Me: "Yes, they're both mine. (Boys running circles around my heels) Do I need to sign here?"
DAR: "There on the left, sweetie. Well, they seem very close in age. *Pause* Are they very close in age?"
Me: "Yes, they're only 7 1/2 months apart actually."
*Stunned silence as normal human gestation and the math necessary to figure that one out are occurring*
DAR: "Oh...one of them must have been born early?"
Me: "Yes, Ma'am. The first one was born 2 1/2 months early."
*More stunned silence because the mathematical facts of the first one being born early still doesn't make sense*
DAR: "And you're pregnant--again?"
Me: "Yes, Ma'am, I am. Can I vote over there now?"

And so that conversation was repeated more than once for six months of my pregnancy, because I show quickly! When my mother-in-law chastised me for not telling the whole story, I told her that if I was asked the question by someone who genuinely wanted to hear the whole thing and not just sniff my business, that I'd certainly tell the details. Otherwise, I was just trying to survive pregnancy with toddlers 7 1/2 months apart!

My husband said, "Wait till you tell them that each one has a different genetic father!"

Hoo boy! I didn't have the nerve for that! but I do now.