Ada
Dearest reader, can you imagine as an involuntary childless person having the words ‘I can’t talk about my kids because of you!’ hurled abusively across a staff canteen at you during your lunch break. It seems unbelievably cruel doesn’t?
Well, dearest reader, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that this individual wasn’t the kindest to me when I spoke out about being childless not by choice and opened up about the things I’d never get to experience as a heartbroken childless individual.
One of the things I mentioned was missing out on the Saturday activities, the standing on the sidelines, the lovely although mundane and at times difficult aspects of being a mum. Oh but dear reader, when she heard this, it gave her a gleeful idea to constantly sit beside me at lunch (a strange phenomenon in itself) and tell me all about her Saturday life sentence of standing on the sideline, of cheering her children on, of being a mum!
She’d tell me how awful it was and make comments that she had it way tougher than me, although I hadn’t opted in for comparisons! I politely asked her to stop. I stated that to me it felt she was lucky. I told her she was hurting me. I walked away and still she endlessly persisted.
Eventually a rare brave colleague (most were happy just to play by stander and be partially responsible for the hurt they could see her cause) asked her to stop!
Oh but wait for the further irony of her comment, dearest reader. Part of my inability to have children was based on bullying and the impacts this has on a persons’ health and well-being (important concepts in baby having). You’ll never guess, dearest reader, who the chief bully was? Yes this ‘charming’ individual bullied me. I was subjected, dearest reader, to an array of bullying behaviours from eye rolls on repeat to sneers and digs, telling lies and turning colleagues against me, making false allegations and inciting others to do the same, creating hate towards me. A hate that others including my boss bought into and gosh how her and her merry minions made my life hell for a time.
And yes dearest reader, I should have left the company but bills and specialised working arrangements made this impossible. However, I’m sure you’ll all agree, dearest reader, with a correction I have to make. This correction understandably is directed at this ‘charming’ colleague: ‘IT IS I WHO CAN’T TALK ABOUT MY KIDS BECAUSE OF YOU!’
