THEORY:
I am 41 years old, single, never been in a relationship and never married. So, how did I get “pregnant”? Let me tell you how.
I have friends my age, who now have kids who are older than 10 years. They can proudly say that for the last 10 years they were busy raising their kids. And then I look at my life, and realize I have nothing to show for. Sure, I was working all that time, but so did they! I am not comparing, just simply stating the truth. And I don’t necessarily desire to be married and have kids of my own right now but seriously, I need to do something with my life.
When I try to analyze what I have done in last 10 years while my friends are bringing up their kids, my other single friend have pointed out that I did help my parents build a house, brought my parents here to visit in Canada, travelled to the US and did some professional certifications. And that’s all true, but so did all my married friends who at the same time also raised their kids.
Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful for what I have accomplished in the past 10 years, but I know I can do better. Especially in how I use my time.
I had mentioned this to my other single friend and we both realized that because we are single and no one is depending on us, we take our time for granted. Singleness had a negative effect on our productivity. Like for me, if you read my previous post, in the last 10 years, I had spent so much time on my phone, time that I could have used to do something more useful.
I bet my friends who have kids also use their phones mindlessly but only to a certain extent because they have diapers to change, more laundry to wash, babies to feed, house to clean, husbands to talk to, kids’ school activities to attend to and also themselves to take care of.
Then here I am, single, I can’t even consistently pack my lunch for work! You’d think that being single I should have more time to get things done…My house is so clean and organized, may car is tidy and spotless, I always have a packed lunch for work, I sleep for 8 hours, my basement is tidy, my bills are paid on time and I am up to date with my professional continuing education. But oh no, none of the above is true. I always panic when my sister tells me someone is coming over because the house is a mess. So we rush to clean when someone comes to visit. We even planned on inviting people over every month so that we are forced to clean! If you see our basement, you’d think we just moved in. Boxes and storage containers everywhere. I am always anxious when a coworker asks for a ride home, my car is so dusty and the mats haven’t been washed for months.
This is unbelievable. It has to change, like right now!
ACTION:
So, that’s how I got “pregnant”.
What if I pretend to be “pregnant”? That is, conceive an idea and take care of it for 9 months. Like how my pregnant friends did. Let’s take French lesson for example. I have conceived this idea a year ago. So I started with Duolingo. But I wasn’t very consistent. Let’s just say that was a false positive pregnancy test. Then, I learned about the Mango language app in June. So I started learning again. Let’s just say, I got pregnant in June 2024. By March 2024 I should be ready to give birth. Meaning, I should be fluent in French by then. Just in time for my birthday. Tada, I will have my first baby at 42!
This is very exciting. And I want to commit to this. I have told almost everyone I know that I am learning French, my coworkers, people at church and my friends. Now that everybody knows what I am up to, hopefully the shame of not following through will force me to bring this to the finish line.
Next time I meet my friends, I will have something to show for .
Leave a Reply