Sunday, December 28, 2014

Tell Me About It: He's ready for a dog, not a baby

Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Question: Husband and Wife (me) have been married about a year. Wife is 31 and wants babies before fertility becomes an issue, and independently has begun to crave parenthood primally. Husband wants kids eventually but says he isn't emotionally ready yet (and doesn't have an ETA on when he'll be ready).

Husband suddenly wants a dog. He's always wanted one, but on another level he seems to believe a puppy will placate my yearning. Ridiculous.

I would be OK with adopting a dog after starting a family, but resent the idea of doing it now. It wouldn't replace a baby, and I worry the extra responsibility would sour Husband even more toward the baby idea, because the dog would take up more time and money that he already guards preciously.

However, I also don't want it to seem like I'm "punishing" him for not having a baby.

Answer: There are at least a half-dozen ways you don't respect or trust each other, and instead you're operating as independent agents. That's no environment for a baby or a dog.

Take his "not emotionally ready," for example. Even though it's better he admits that, if true, than pretends or deludes himself otherwise, he's also not 17 and he's married to someone raring to go. He owes you a more thoughtful answer and a better effort. And do I detect an eye-roll in your "doesn't have an ETA"? I suggest marriage counseling or a reputable marriage seminar or workshop (even premarital, since they're more common); if one of you refuses, then put that on the list of ways you're acting as individuals vs. teammates.

If you can go to him now and say, "Neither dogs nor kids will work if we aren't in this together," and if he can be receptive enough to discuss things openly, then maybe you can talk yourselves, sans referee, to an answer that suits you both.

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