Selfish v. Unselfish

I admit that wanting to have another child is mostly for selfish reasons. I have always loved children, and years ago knew I wanted at least two, maybe more. Well, the window of opportunity is slowly closing on having even one more, but I am still hanging onto that dream as long as I feel it's reasonable. My new joke is that my biological clock stopped working a while back, and I'm so old now that I'm hearing my geological clock. So that's one reason: fulfilling old dreams.

Another one is because I want to experience the magic of childbirth and those first months of caring for a tiny baby again. It may sound corny, but after the birth of my son I really did think, "Wow, this is why I've been put on this earth-to do this". And even though those first 6 months are harder than anything in life, they are also so wonderful and sweet that I am just dying to go through it again. This is REALLY selfish on my part, since having even one child at my age was truly a gift, maybe even a miracle.

Now, here's where things get debatable. I consider this to be an unselfish reason, but I'm sure someone could make the argument that it's also selfish. I really want my son to have a sibling to help him get through tough times in this sometimes crazy and cruel world. Because my husband and I are older, I wonder if there will be times in his life that he'll need us and we will have already departed from this world. Having a brother, I know how good it feels to know there's someone out there with the same flesh and blood as you. Someone that you could hopefully rely on in a crisis, or even for things like helping you move, or giving advice about changing careers or relationships. I feel this very strongly because I truly believe that it's going to get tougher and tougher to live life in this messed up world, with economic woes and global warming problems basically taking over daily life. It's already happening.

And finally, my last reason is because I think I'm a really good parent. Maybe I will raise a child (or children) that can help to clean up the mess that the world seems to be heading in. This seems unselfish to me, in a cocky but hopeful sort of way.

So there are my honest-to-goodness reasons for wanting another child.