Love Conquers All

 The Inseminator and I have been talking about our future. We are getting married in August, have a house, and have been together for six years. We will both admit that not all of the six years have been happy, but there has definitely been more good than bad.
We started talking about "what next.."...you know, baby makes 3?..
It started as a discussion that lead to waiting until 2011. 
Then we started talking about the reason why we might want to wait that long. Which boiled down to freedom, responsibility, and cost. 
We talked about losing freedom, increased responsibilty, and the cost of a baby (not as much as I thought it would be). 
That lead to deciding to think about 2010 to start trying. 
Then Ben started asking his friends, family, and co-workers what they thought. Almost everyone he has talked to has been in complete support of us starting a family. They think we will make great parents. 
I talked to my friends and family, they think we will make great parents.

Then there was the one.. 
the one who thinks that we can't handle it
the one who made around $40,000 last year but could barely afford their child
the one who thinks that there is no way we are ready.
the one who thinks that us having a child would change our lifes so drastically that we wouldn't be able to handle it

and this is what I have to say to that:
--I am absolutely positive we can handle it.- We have been through more together in the past 6 years than most people I know, we are completely honest with each other...we have talked about the "what ifs" and the "but whens." It's about as planned as the unknown can be.
-- Money isn't everything, and it doesn't buy happiness and love. Our baby may not have THE BEST of everything, but it will always be loved by both of its parents, it will always be paid attention to, it may have the least materialistic upbringing possible, but love conquers all.
--We are as ready as two people can be without winning the powerball. We are emotionally, physically, and mentally ready for anything. Again, we have talked about it, we know the risks, the benefits, etc. We may lack the money needed to buy a $3,000 swing set, but isn't a tire swing in a tree much more fun?
-- Anything you do changes your life. I went to college and it changed our lives, we moved in together and it changed our lives, we are getting married and that will change our lives too. A baby is step you take when you are ready to make the commitment. It is something you do knowing that the outcome is 18 years of commitment to raising an amazing human being. We know these things, we are ready for changes.

So in the end, get over it, our decision will be made based on how we feel inside, its nice to know that you think we will fail as parents, but we will provided a loving home for a child, it may not have top of the line toys, but it will have support,and comfort.

Suck it up.