When?

Another post from my iPhone...please excuse the typos my apparently GIANT fingers will cause. You've been warned!

Today, I got asked the "usual" question. Ya know, the question that gets asked of me by almost everyone I know or meet...family, friends, co-workers, the lady at the nail salon, the checker at Target..."When are you gonna have kids?" Because being a 29 year old woman who has been married for 3+ years must mean we are planning on having a family soon, right??

I used to just shrug off this particular question, figuring it was the norm. But, the drastic increase in this question's appearance in my life got me thinking. Why is it so important for these people (some who are relative strangers) to know all the details about my biological clock and plans for future children? Does my decision to start a family now or a year from now impact them in some way? I get why family and close friends ask...itching for more babies to snuggle! But the random people I encounter don't really need to know this. Do they?

It's strange living in this social media, reality television driven society. I am as guilty as anyone of wanting in on celebrity gossip, trolling Facebook feeds, or watching drama unfold for some lazy, rich housewives. This "fishbowl" we live in seems to have eliminated our filters. We feel like Facebook statuses and Tweets and staged reality allow us to really know someone. So why wouldn't it be weird to ask a perfect stranger a personal question?

Maybe it's time for us to take a step back and think about the things we say to people, or the things we ask them about. "When are you going to get married?" "Are you working on getting that promotion finally?" "How long are you going to keep that dead end job?" Maybe these questions aren't okay to ask people we barely know. Aren't there things you don't want people to ask you? We aren't always entitled the the answers we seek.

As for the answer to the question I am always asked, my answer is simple....when God decides it's time.   :0)