So when will you two start having babies?

I’ve been getting this kind of question more often that I realized. Usually when people find out I’m engaged, they ask questions in this order:

“Oh my gosh! When are you getting married?”

“How’s the planning going so far?”

“When are you guys going to have kids?”

I can assure you that at this point, babies are far from our plans. We’re just trying to get through getting married! I know typically this is the flow of events: engagement, marriage, house, babies. But with us, we want to wait a little while.

Don’t get me wrong, my biological clock is warning me that it’s nearing that time but I can hit snooze for at least a few more years. I want children, and I want them as soon as the timing is right. I would love for Phillip and I to magically have consistent careers with plush salaries, a house given to us, and stability – all right when we say “I do.” But I’m not thinking that’s going to happen.

There is nothing I want more than to instantly have a baby and hand a wonderful grandchild over to the wonderful parents Phillip and I have. That day will be one I will remember forever. But right now, we’re just not ready to take that step, despite everyone’s inquiries. Therefore, we will wait.

The magic number seems to be three. Three is the number of kids I we want and three is the number of years we want to wait before starting a family. Three years would give us plenty of time to finish our post-college education ventures (ie graduate/nursing school), find stable jobs, and possibly buy a house. It’s the perfect amount of married time to have together before throwing a “plus one” into the mix.

We’ll see. I mean, they always say that when you tell God your plan that he laughs and overrides it with His. Like I said, we’re focusing on the not-so baby step of marriage before diving into babies and houses. After all, we’re still quite young to even be getting married by today’s standards. We have plenty of time. I know, it’s weird that I of all people am saying that.