Monday, June 19, 2006

Tick Tock

We want Ophelia to be relevant to women of today. So maybe she wants power. . . but she doesn't want to lose her femininity. She wants to be a corporate executive, but she wants to have babies at the same time. And somewhere deep in her psyche she's tired of being the waifish hippie chick, and she wants to assert herself and she just feels like she's saying, 'Look, cut the crap, Hamlet, my biological clock is ticking and I want babies now!' It's that angst-ridden--
Reduced Shakespeare Co. The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)

About a week ago Tolkien Boy and I were recruited to give Foxy J a much need break. Being the loyal Fobs that we are, as well as president and vice president of the S-Boogie fan club, we showed up to the Fobcave to escort S-Boogie to the summer festival going on across the street.

After the requisite trip on the merry-go-round, S-Boogie was ready for something a little more sophisticated--the boats. Small, mechanically operated boats designed to accomodate four children. We watched a group go around and around and around (as S-Boogie herself so deftly articulated) and then it was her turn. She joined a dashing young fellow she later referred to as "her boy" (I could take lessons from this chick) and Tolkien Boy and I watched her go round and round and round.

But I forgot one thing. No, not how cute S-Boogie looked in her sun hat and sunglasses, although she was a picture of maritime perfection. I forgot to mention the bells. Each boat had not one, but two bells attached in front of the seats with a convenient string attached for ringing. And with the din created, you'd think that the whole point of the ride was to ring that bell. Over and over and over as they went around and around and around.

After a few minutes of watching and listening and keeping my tongue still from voicing my thoughts, TB turned to me and with that disarming, charming smile of his, said, "Is that the sound of your biological clock?"

I think I made some clever retort, such as [insert facial expression here] and went to free S-Boogie from her boat in order to move on to the next attraction: cars that went around and around and around.

This is a fun little story to tell, but it's got me thinking. And then there was the 3-month-old son of my ward's second counselor, who I spent part of Gospel Doctrine making faces at today (I wasn't teaching).

About five years ago I had a plan. I was going to get married when I was older--say around 21--and by the time I was 23, I would have my first kid running around, driving me crazy. Instead I'm writing a term paper the night before it's due, making my way through a 12-pack of Diet Coke. And while I'm relatively satisfied with my life right now, I wonder how long that satisfaction will last before this biological alarm is more than the din of a carnival ride.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget the visit to KK. And good news--the median age for marrying females these days is 25. So you're still on the young end!

B.G. Christensen said...

If you want to hit the snooze button, Foxy could tell you in more detail about her trip to the emergency room last week.

Tolkien Boy said...

That was one hell of a ferris wheel ride, that's all I'll say about it.

Well, that, and that you make a very good S-boogie fan. But are you the president, or am I?

FoxyJ said...

When I was 4 I told my mom that I never wanted to have kids because they were too much work. Then when I was 13 my plans included living in a cabin alone on a remote Alaskan island studying wildlife. Some days I really don't know how I ended up being so domestic--I think Heavenly Father has a crazy sense of humor!

erin said...

So while you're doing ten million activities, I'm here to say that we need to finish inscape. My goal is to have it done by next weekend at the very latest. Will you be around the first week of July?

 

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