Tuesday lunch talk.

Ive had a neighbor on mind for some time now. I remember walking up to his house situated in the back of my friends house and knocking on the door and asking if he needed any help with his groceries or needed anything at all. Sure it mind sound like we, my friend and I, were being nice but truth be told we just wanted a quater to buy ice cream. I would take the quarter, go home, and ask my friend what happened to his wife. Why does he live alone. I would get different version of the same story each time. “She died a long time ago”, “he hates kids so he didnt want to be with his wife”, “hes sick”. We were 9 then, so any response was ok since our only concern was the sugary, sticky, dripping ice cream falling onto our hands.

Now, im 28, yes still young but the feeling of walking towards the rear of the house is still there. If the kids from The lion the witch and the wardrobe could descibe the feeling of walking into a new world I bet they would say, “Its like walking to the back of your friends house to visit the old man”.

I still wonder how he came to be alone and how sad his life felt to me.

Lately I’ve had some deep discussions with a fellow co-worker about kids. Its has left me with more questions and some self doubt. My friend brings up really good observations. For example, why should a couple take he next step of having kids when they are perfectly happy the way they are. Do we just do it because its a society norm? Why do i really want kids? My friend’s mom says life without a kid is not a complete life (or living life to the fullest). I asked my friend what she ment by that. Unfortunately my friend didnt dig deeper as to why a life without kids isnt a complete life.

Living a complete life. Humm. I wish i knew what exactly that meant. Its not the first time ive heard that before. My dad once said that, not in those exact words but close to it. “No ceas pendejo. Que gusto es tener hijos ::enter tears::” . I wonder what they know that i dont.

Armando Padilla – Heres to living a complete life. Theres always coffee on my desk.