As you might have guessed by all the infertility/child-free themed posts leading up to this one, April is dedicated to infertility awareness and this week in particular - April 23rd thru April 28th - is National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association chooses a theme each year and for 2018, they settled on Flip the Script. I've heard the phrase before but I never really understood what it meant. I just thought it was another trendy business buzzword, like "disrupters" or "next level." Since I can't write about something I'm unfamiliar with, I decided to Google the definition. This is what I found-
"flip the script - reverse the usual or existing position in a situation, do something unexpected or revolutionary"
Anyone can be challenged to have a family. No matter what race, religion, sexuality or economic status you are, infertility doesn’t discriminate.
Because you’ll never know how badly you want something until you are told that it may not be possible.Together, we can change how others view infertility. It begins with being part of a national movement, National Infertility Awareness Week®. This week unites millions of Americans who want to remove the stigmas and barriers that stand in the way of building families.
Because you’ll never know how badly you want something until you are told that it may not be possible.Together, we can change how others view infertility. It begins with being part of a national movement, National Infertility Awareness Week®. This week unites millions of Americans who want to remove the stigmas and barriers that stand in the way of building families.
Well, that I can do! I have been championing to normalize infertility, endometriosis and their repercussions since I first started this blog. Frankly, I don't think you need to "flip the script" in order to do so. One in every eight couples suffer with infertility. That is a lot of couples! So is it that weird to talk about it? The only way to change how others view infertility is to discuss the topic in regular conversation. Like I mentioned earlier, I am no trouble making rabble-rouser but if someone approaches me with the topic of my family, I will openly speak about my infertility and decision to only have dogs. I understand that the conversation may be awkward and difficult at first but the more you open up, the easier it becomes. I've also noticed that the more I've talked about it, the more other people joined in. I was once getting a drink at a local cafe. There were young girls running around and laughing. The woman behind the counter told me she wished she had daughters. I replied that, yes, those girls were certainly cute ... but also a little rowdy. She asked if I had any children and I told her that I was unable to conceive so I will not be adding any children to my family. She then opened up her miscarriage. And just like that, we were two women sharing our experiences in normal conversation. I am aware that not all of my conversations go that smoothly. At the last company holiday party, a coworker told me that I would not be able to have a "real Christmas" due to my lack of children. So, you win some and you lose some but I think we are all allowed to talk about our families regardless of their size or how they came to be. If you fostered or adopted your children, please tell me about it because you are a saint and I'd love to hear about your journey. If you're struggling to conceive, let me know and we can weep together. And if you've chosen to live without children, then cheers to you and lets hang out!
