I find it odd how every stage of life throws a different set of social pressures at you. There is no avoiding them and the most recent one to come my way is the pressure of having a child. Within the past 6 months friends around me have given birth to four children and the joy with which the talk about the children makes me want one too!
Yet, if we have a child, then we are immediately cemented to our location and many of the pleasures that I take part in on a daily basis will go out the window. Not to mention that the pressure of providing for the family will take my rather calm attitude and test its mettle. I certainly don’t feel ready to be a father from an intellectual point of view. I’m sure that all fathers say that and by the time my daughter or son is looking to me for advice that is beyond the elementary I’ll have another 10 years of experience under my belt to truly give them the worldly advice they desire… still it seems like I haven’t accomplished enough yet to warrant being the adviser of something so malleable.
With the advent of social media I’m also witnessing first hand things that only parents themselves would have witnessed before or I would have only heard of months or years after it had occurred. This added insight makes me even more curious and more hesitant. As long as I don’t hesitate for too long, no harm, no foul, but time is ticking the pressure is on.