Are you going to have another baby?

Tsugi no okosan ha?

I get asked this once every so often, and when I do, I tell the truth, which is that I would like for the Pumpkin Princess to have a brother or a sister soon. Like many only children under the age of four, she seems to believe the world revolves around her, and I think she needs a reality check :) Plus, I'll be 37 this year, and everyone knows fertility goes downhill with age. Not to mention the older you are, the more likely you are to have a difficult pregnancy. This is objective medical data, not some kind of conspiracy by old men trying to keep young women barefoot and pregnant. Not that barefoot and pregnant are bad things to be, of course, as long as you also have the chance, should you want it, to wear pretty shoes and have a professional track career.

Still, I find it amusing and annoying that people ask me this question, particularly if they are not close friends or immediate family. First of all, my plans for my family are none of their business. Unless, of course, you happen to be my mother, and know for a fact you will be seriously involved in caring for any children of mine :) But mostly, it squicks me out because, well, you know how babies are made? So when you ask me if I'm planning another child, you are asking me, albeit indirectly, what I, um, do with my husband when we are together. Which, um, seriously? None of your f-ing business.

Literally.