two for the show...

You should know that I'm an only child. Actually, both Adam and I are only children, which is somewhat unusual outside the People's Republic of China, or so it would seem, judging by all the advice that I've ever received about how the life of a sibling is oh, so very different than the life of an only child. A few years ago, I would have thought that everybody else was full of crap, but as it turns out, they were right.

When I was pregnant with Dan, our families kept making dire predictions about how Ginny would react. (Translation: everyone believed she was extremely spoiled and needy.) True, it hasn't been a walk in the park, but then again, comparing her childhood to mine is basically impossible. I craved--and got--my parents' attention. She craves--and gets--her brother's. Which is not to say that Adam and I not important, but that we're firmly in the supporting cast, as opposed to the starring role. We're like the eternal Robert Duval/Joan Cusack to her and Daniel's Will Smith/Julia Roberts, and I think that this is pretty much going to be the way it is forever. I know my own mom is super close to her sister, and my dad doesn't talk TO his mom nearly as much as he talks ABOUT her to his brother.

But all that begs the question--are only children able to have happy lives? Is part of living deliberately and respecting the earth limiting the number of your offspring? Yes, and yes. That said, I don't know if Ginny is better off for having Dan, but I know I am (and I have a sneaking suspicion she wouldn't send him back, even if she could...)