Options...we are obsessed with them!

In today's materialistic society of individuals trying to be part of the group but stand out, there are just too many options. What I mean is you can now trick out anything from your car to your shoes to yes, even your braces. Customization is key always. We want what the Jones' have, but we want it different enough to be similar but better...

Options are part of life as well. You can take road A or road B; or even road C if A and B are not to your liking. Do you go to college or straight to a job? Do you get a Big Mac or a sub? Do you buy import or American? Do you marry and have kids or have kids and marry? Tatoo or piercing? Both? CHOOSE CHOOSE CHOOSE...but choose wisely. With every decision comes consequences; good or bad. Yeah, the latest celeb haircut looks great on the 6 foot blond amazon goddess, but on your average mid-western melon it's a travesty. So the next choice is wig or dye job?

Making endless decisions is part of life, and as adults, we are faced with an endless stream of them from the moment we wake up (go to work or go back to sleep?) to the moment we go to sleep (sleep or sex? - side note, as a parent of 2 small kids, sleep wins 95% of the time). Our choices are always complex and we think we know the outcomes, but more times than not, we are surprised. This compounds once you add children...because now you have to make decisions for a person who YOU made, and who relies on YOU...and you don't want the choices to end up as long therapy sessions at the age of 40 when your now grown up baby thinks their inability to commit stems from the time you couldn't choose between Bambi and Cinderella so you said "well, let's just have a quite night and read the CAT IN THE HAT."

The issue of choice compounds even further when your child has a developmental issue - like my little man and his inability to hear. NOW I am faced with ETHICAL choices...should he get implants or be deaf and choose himself when he's older? Should I go with implant brand A that is waterproof, but brand B has better sound? Do you get one or two implants? Do you start out with sign language or lip reading? Shall your child be a talker or a signer? Do you have insurance to cover this or do you have to wait? Can you afford the copays? BLAH BLAH BLAH....

For an issue concerning a deaf child, there's a lot of noise.

To help alleviate the clutter, we have enrolled in our county's BIRTH TO 3 program which aims to help with these decisions. We will also be visiting an ENT for a second opinion and meet with audiologists and otolaryngologists (say THAT 10 times fast). Each groups will try to help us make decisions...but in the end, it's our choice as parents. What path to take? What is right? What is ethical?

SO when you are 75 and your 40 year old child looks at their life, will they be happy with what you have done for them? As a child myself, the answer isn't always clear. Parents mean well. I just pray my son knows that.

Besides - we can always trick out the implants!