OK, I should be used to it by now...but I'm not. I'm angry and I don't want to take it any longer. My daughter is a twenty-nine-year old happily married woman. But when people ask me how many children I have and I answer one, I become the victim of either pity or scorn. The inquisitor's voice drops a decibel and she whispers, "Oh," as if I have committed some crime against humanity or I am somehow less than human. When will it end? I am on a crusade to stop the underlying scorn. It's the 21st Century. The economy is in the toilet, millions of children in this country alone don't have enough to eat, and the planet needs fewer people, not more, if we are to make it in tact to the 22nd Century. I am rich in my daughter's love, her strength of character and compassion. Our family is strong and vital, and my daughter is always there for us. All of you parents out there with only children need to stand up and say, "Get off my back. Only children are a huge gift to the world. You should be delighted that I have one who will be more responsible than a child with siblings, who knows how to relate to adults and is a supportive friend. My kid tries harder, which is more than I can say for a lot of kids with siblings. So get over it world. Only children are the wave of the future. Given the economy, more people are going to reconsider what a family is. Jon and Kate Plus 8 isn't a family. It's a traveling media circus.
