
Soon Pesach will be upon us, we'll go home to our parent's house, eat matzah for eight days and be surrounded by family. But how do you deal with family when you are the only one without kids? One sister has three, another with five (though they won't be joining us) and a brother with one - who happened to get married a full year after my husband and I.
Do you ever get the belly look from people after they ask you how long have you been married? 3 years you answer them - the follow-up question - do you have any kids? and the moment you say no there the eyes go right down to the belly to check for a bulge. And then there is shul - you go to shul and low and behold what is going on, did you miss the notice? It is the grandchild parade - every Bubbe and Zaide coming in to show off their finest nachas (the grandkids that is) and you are just sitting their davening. We say in the hagadah - in every generation each person is responsible to see themselves as if they left Egypt - I think it will be a little easier this year. The significance of leaving Egypt was gaining a level of personal freedom, yes we follow the Torah and its laws, but we are not oppressed. To me, oppression is the feeling of being trapped within yourself - you don't have someone to confide in, you have no where to belong. That is what infertility feels like, you are the one left with nothing to contribute to the conversation while everyone talks about which ob/gyn they are using, when they are going to take birthing classes or how much weight their baby has gained. Who do you confide in when all the other Bubbe's in the shul are looking at your mom wondering why her children aren't giving her the nachas of a grandchild? Pesach will be a trying time, pasting on the happy smile for all the family and social settings - I think I'll be able to sit at the Seder next week and have a little bit more of an appreciation for what our ancestors endured - my burden may not be the same physical labor as they experienced, but it is a great burden nonetheless.
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