In Sex and the City 2 (which, by the way, may very well be the worst movie of all time *sniff*), Big and Carrie face the discomfort and stares of people who assume that they are going to start having children now that they are married. I was talking with Sam recently about this very thing... and we decided that most people don't really put a whole lot of thought and prayer into having children. They just assume that that's what they're supposed to do because that's what everyone else does, and so they do it.

Think about it. You start dating someone and people start asking you how it's going, then when you're getting engaged. You get engaged and people immediately begin asking you when the wedding is. You get married and they want to know when you're going to have children. You have a child and they want to know if you're ready for another one. At no point in this whole rigamarole is it acceptable to say, "You know, I'm not sure that's what I want." Can you imagine answering the question, "So when do you think he's going to propose!?!" with, "Oh, you know, I'm not really even thinking about that. He may not be a person I'll marry, but I enjoy his company!" No one says that!!! It's like we're living in the antebellum South, for crying out loud!

And unfortunately, this is the position I find myself in. I'm a moderately conservative 29-year-old virgin who doesn't really want to have children. But can I really tell anyone that? Hell, no. Any one of those things is a strike on its own. Moderate? Ick. VIRGIN!?!?!? What's wrong with you? About to turn 30? I see, so you're too picky. In the last week, I've been "e-dumped" (email, text, telephone dumped) by 3 different men. There are just "women I am more compatible with," you see. What does that mean? Well, one of them had the balls to tell me: there are loads of women out there who are attractive, single, intelligent and WANT TO HAVE KIDS.

It really sucks. Especially when one's friends insist on saying, "You know, probably the reason you're still alone is your stance on children." GEE THANKS, I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT.

Here's the thing. I know the odds are not in my favor. I know there are probably only a handful of men on the planet who don't necessarily want to have children. I know that the chances of any of those men sharing my particular religious and political leanings is even smaller. So maybe I've been a bit ridiculous expecting to find someone who falls within those parameters. Maybe I ought to give up the dream, or at least stop expecting it to come true. Better to be pleasantly surprised some day when I'm 42, perhaps :(