Teen Motherhood

The plan to get my journalist friend to watch the kids on Saturday while I attended a baby shower didn’t work out, so I called on a baby-sitter.

She’s 16, goes to the local high school and is a mother to 9 month old baby. It boggles my mind how she manages to take care of her own child, she’s so young. I also wonder if I would have coped as well she is, if I'd fallen pregnant that young.

Until I got custody of Baby when she was almost a year old, I swore that I was not ready for motherhood. I didn't hear clock ticking, no deep seated urge to procreate.

It seriously disturbed friends and family, who thought it was time I started thinking along those lines.

I saw motherhood as a demanding occupation requiring a sense of responsibility that I was sure didn’t have.

Friends didn't ask me to babysit their kids - too terrified of what I would do to them/feed them or something.

I still struggle with that paradox of motherhood – confident that I am doing the best I can, and yet appreciating that I will continue to learn and grow and it’s okay to worry sometimes.

World Population Day

I suppose the issue very relevant today, as it's World population day, a day that focuses on people under 25, reproductive issues, and health.

The day is sponsored by the United Nations World Population Fund (UNFPA), which seeks to provide education and awareness to reproductive health, reproductive choice, family planning, and to provide a better future for young people.

News Update

The publisher my agent submitted A fair contest to rejected the story.

But I'm not too worried. I know it time we'll find the right home for that story.