What would you do?

Hubby and I recently celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary earlier this month. We decided to have a nice laid-back dinner at Little Creatures (your recommendation, Diana!)… I always associated Little Ceatures with good locally brewed beer, but I never knew they served such great pizzas and chilli mussels… and their frites are just wow!!! I will never be fully satisfied with regular fries again.

From our seats, there is a clear view of their brewery… so you can admire the process of brewing the beer while you enjoy a pint

Among the various things we talked about was children… but delving a bit deeper into some of the more difficult questions around this.

You see, my colleague recently told me that her sister had found out that the 3-month baby she was carrying was indicated as having a cleft and at risk for other potential problems, like down syndrome. So they were faced with the difficult decision whether to terminate the baby. I was quite shaken when she told me this. No one in our office said anything beyond the usual sympathetic remarks… because what else could you say? Whichever decision they make, the outcome will affect them them for the rest of their lives… if they choose the terminate, the guilt will continue to haunt them through the years ahead… if they choose to keep the baby, the responsibility of carrying for a disabled child will continue to burden them as long as they live.

I was then faced with the same question. What would I do?

In the past, I would easily answer without even a flicker of doubt that my stand would be not to terminate. All children are a gift from God. How can you wilfully choose to take away another life just like that?

But now, the seemingly inevitable answer seems harder to face.

In the end I know the right thing to do based on my principles… but oh, the burden of the question weighs down so heavily. Whichever way you turn, there is no easy way to face it.

And so now, if I ever meet anyone who has ever had to face this difficult decision. I know my place can never be to judge or even to tell them what the right thing to do is. I can only shut my lips, and feel the heart wrenching pain they must be going through.

Hubby and I talked this over as we ate our pizza and frites and chilli mussels. We have not come to any easy conclusion.

I hope it’s a decision we never have to face.

If it were you, what would you do?