A Fable about “Life as Planned”

Once upon a time, three friends went to lunch. They chatted in pursuit of solving the problems of the world and hypothesizing their place in it, as friends at lunch are prone to do. In what is often the triangle of lady friends, their summed up personalities were these: the moderator, the know-it-all, and the undecided.

These women were young, unattached to life’s burdens and at the crux of their futures.

When the question of children arose, all three looked forward to the experience. Surely each would moderate, commandeer, or follow lovingly along (whatever the case may be) into marriage and family.