( 379) Sons vs daughters/ Upbringing 42

A long time ago my grandma used to say it was a blessing to have ten sons but not so to have ten daughters. I used to be a highly offended grand daughter who would fight verbal battles with her for days until she had to retract her proverbs. She realized that times had changed.

And so I grew up telling myself that the more daughters my parents have, the more blessings they receive. It is hard luck that they have only one girl. A few days ago I met up with my old neighbours. She looked tired, defeated and generally the worse for wear. How can it be? Her husband's many enterprises are going well and she has good health. Moreover, I can't say she is unhappy.

Her eldest daughter is twenty seven years old while the second one is twenty three. Both possess reputable degrees and hold good jobs.  Both have boy friends courting them. One to each,of course. What I have just related would have made any parent glow with pride. Yet there is a little hitch: both suitors spend every available weekends, holidays and nights in my friend's house. What this amounts to is more mouths to feed, more consumables are used; which adds to the workload of the mistress.

She happens to have quite a few more daughters growing up. I dare not even think of what life would be like for her when her youngest girl starts bringing her boy wonder home to add to the household. What if by then all the other sisters still decide to stay put and not get married!  At this point I have to agree that there is something in what my grandma said. After all it comes from five thousand years of accumulated folk wisdom of ancient China.


* bigstockphoto Happy Children 13757 from greenvalleypediatrics.org