If you have deliberately decided not to have children, and wouldn't mind sharing your story, I'd really appreciate hearing it.

Some quick backstory: I like kids-especially on an individual basis or in small groups just fine, but I don't feel at all compelled to parent. I always thought that might change as I aged, but I'm now in my early 30's and if anything the idea feels less attractive to me than it did 5 years ago.

I babysat a ton as a teen, and love being around boyfriends' nieces/nephews, friends' babies, and my much younger cousins. But every time a friend announced they are pregnant or-have baby fever (and seriously, half of my friends and coworkers either just have had or are about to have babies; the rest want them soon, or yesterday!), I can't relate to that need. I'm happy for them if they have a baby, because I'm happy for any friend who gets something they want, even if it's a desire I don't share. I'm sad for friends struggling with infertility, or who have had scary medical issues with their little ones, because I can see how devastating it is to them.

I don't feel like having a kid would bring me the kind of joy that it does to my friends, and there are so many parts of parenting-especially infants and young toddlers-that make me cringe. Overall, I greatly prefer company of adults. I go through periods of time every year where my mental health is quite poor, and am concerned that I would make a very unhappy and unstable mom. Also, though my boyfriend and I make it just fine financially as two adults, I don't see our financial situation changing enough to the point where I'd want to prioritize having a kid above other things (buying a house? Getting a master's degree?) that seem out of reach even now.

I've always known I wanted dogs, but kids? Meh.

I'm not drawing a line in the sand-as always, I reserve the right to change my mind-but I don't feel any nearer to doing so.

Would love some food for thought if anyone else has been through this.