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An interesting thing happened when Elly was wailing about how she was going to be tied down and have her whole life ruined forever and ever when April decided to be born and fool everyone. Said interesting thing is that Connie exclaimed about the unfairness of it all because she and Greg tried and tried to have a child of their own to prove their love for one another only to come up with nothing. Elly's reaction was to make noncommittal noise about friendship that allowed her to not think about the heartache and recrimination she never knew or really cared about.
The reason that I mention this is that we have to remember that Phil and Georgia danced the same dance and had the same disappointing results:
After four years of marriage and some acutely embarrassing medical moments, they knew they would have no children of their own. There were times when this depressed them. Other times, Phil thought it might be just as well. He wasn't at all certain he had what it took to be a good father.
They talked of adopting, but decided against it. While both would have loved children of their own, there was also pleasure in coming home after a hectic day to a peaceful house. There were advantages, too, in being able to focus totally on their careers. They both worked with children every day; their interest in young people could be channelled into more dedicated efforts to help those kids lead better, richer lives.
When that wasn't quite enough to ease the hurt, they decided to "adopt" two children and their families through an international aid organization. Each month they contributed the amount they had planned to put into an education fund for their own children. It was humbling to find that such a meagre amount was enough to not only support the two families, but to provide a well for safe drinking water for their whole village. There was comfort in knowing that out of their disappointment had come some real good.
In short, we're dealing with the fact that Phil and Georgia endured heroic medical intervention in order to overcome fertility issues only to spend their lives sighing about might-have-been children and who it is that will miss them when they go. This would be tragic enough if Elly were to actually care about their pain and suffering. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
josephusrex stated and as Elly's glib comment about Connie's pain reminds us, we're dealing with the fact that Lynn thinks that Phil and Georgia and Joan and Alan are living their lives in vain because they never had kids. Children, you see, are a horrible, life-destroying burden one must endure to be worthy of the gift of life. To think otherwise, to feel true empathy for people who tried and failed would mean admitting that other possibilities exist. After all, John could have had the same low sperm count Phil has and where would she be without children to be angry at for no reason?
The reason that I mention this is that we have to remember that Phil and Georgia danced the same dance and had the same disappointing results:
After four years of marriage and some acutely embarrassing medical moments, they knew they would have no children of their own. There were times when this depressed them. Other times, Phil thought it might be just as well. He wasn't at all certain he had what it took to be a good father.
They talked of adopting, but decided against it. While both would have loved children of their own, there was also pleasure in coming home after a hectic day to a peaceful house. There were advantages, too, in being able to focus totally on their careers. They both worked with children every day; their interest in young people could be channelled into more dedicated efforts to help those kids lead better, richer lives.
When that wasn't quite enough to ease the hurt, they decided to "adopt" two children and their families through an international aid organization. Each month they contributed the amount they had planned to put into an education fund for their own children. It was humbling to find that such a meagre amount was enough to not only support the two families, but to provide a well for safe drinking water for their whole village. There was comfort in knowing that out of their disappointment had come some real good.
In short, we're dealing with the fact that Phil and Georgia endured heroic medical intervention in order to overcome fertility issues only to spend their lives sighing about might-have-been children and who it is that will miss them when they go. This would be tragic enough if Elly were to actually care about their pain and suffering. As
josephusrex stated and as Elly's glib comment about Connie's pain reminds us, we're dealing with the fact that Lynn thinks that Phil and Georgia and Joan and Alan are living their lives in vain because they never had kids. Children, you see, are a horrible, life-destroying burden one must endure to be worthy of the gift of life. To think otherwise, to feel true empathy for people who tried and failed would mean admitting that other possibilities exist. After all, John could have had the same low sperm count Phil has and where would she be without children to be angry at for no reason?
