Through The Fire

Love comes in all forms and shapes.  It’s not just for beauty queens as the song goes.  I have seen so much in my lifetime to even think that this experience is limited to those who are aesthetically pleasing (if society’s norms are to be believed).  The only thing necessary it seems is courage to go through a relationship and/or in most cases a healthy dose of lascivious intent.  I am, as in most cases, a fencesitter in these endeavors.  I maintain a relationship that for all people watching seems to be going nowhere.  I seem to be stuck in a moment as my bestfriend would attest.  Grudgingly, I may be that.  But then again, oh who cares.

Imagine my surprise around two years ago when I noticed that one of our more cheerful sanitary personnel was heavy with child.  I asked her when she got married and she answered (with a toothy grin) that she will be married soon.  Apparently she will be married to one of her colleagues who obviously was the one who gave her the infection.  I had to shake my head as I pondered on the potential expenses that lie ahead of them.  Here I am, earning a rather decent salary and yet in terms of financial considerations I had serious doubts on my capability to properly provide for a potential offspring.  These two brave people’s willingness to go through marriage was surprising for me to say the least.  They eventually got married and I thought that was the end to that.  A couple of years passed and I again noticed that the familiar sanitary personnel is again heavy with child.  Because I seldom see her, I asked her again whether it’s her first child, she laughingly told me that it was to be her second child.  My calculator infested mind again went to work and again, I can only shake my head thinking of her financial burden.  Not that the child is a burden but you know what I mean.

The last encounter disturbed me enough that I had to talk it over with the SO.  Unfortunately or rather fortunately the SO and I share the same views towards this rather allergy inducing topic.  She also cannot fathom how these happy folks can go on with what it is that goes on with their life without seemingly worrying about their child’s and their future.  But perhaps we are just looking at the world in a completely different perspective.  Maybe we were to curious and afraid of the what-ifs that we fail to appreciate the present.

I am all for gushing over newborn babes and marital bliss, but I always thought that one goes into that sort of thing armed to the teeth with financial ammunition.  After all financial burden have been proven to break a marriage which is always not good for the offsprings of that union.  But as I look all around me, I see married security guards, drivers, cigarette vendors– people from all walks of life proudly and happily toting kids that if you really think about it they cannot afford to raise.

I don’t know, perhaps I’m overly cautious, or overly worried even, but I do believe that if a person has a hard time sustaining himself, he should be embracing bachelorhood with all his might.

But what do I know.