Listeners of yesterday's episode of Marc Maron's podcast "WTF" were treated to a phone call between Marc Maron and fellow comedian Sarah Silverman. During their conversation, Silverman opened up about the "regrets" and "sadnesses" she feels around not having kids — as well as the messages she receives from people who think she should.
Maron made the call to congratulate Silverman for her Screen Actors Guild nomination, Best Female Lead Performance, for her role as Laney in the drama I Smile Back, and the conversation quickly turned personal. "I'm 45 and I don't have kids and when you're a woman, I'm finding out you get so much pressure," Silverman shared. "I got two emails within the span of a week, two weeks ago, from people in my life...who just out of nowhere said 'you should really have kids' and 'I've been thinking about you.'"
"It's a sadness for me because I love kids. I ache for kids," she continued, "but I love my life more. You can't have it all; you really can't, unless you're a 'fun dad.'" This is a.k.a. the parent who can zoom into the house at the end of a day of doing what (s)he loves (as someone else does the child-rearing), and do nothing but light up the room.
It's not that Silverman doesn't want kids: It's that she's not prepared to be the parent she'd want to be, and her candidness about the distinction is refreshing. "I don't have a lifestyle that's conducive to having kids the way I want to have kids, but that doesn't mean I have no regrets or no sadnesses about it," she adds.
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