I know that I am quite late this subject but, I enjoyed reading the response. I have made a conscious decision not to have children I will be 40 in 9 days. When I was younger my sister became pregnant with her first child. I was 17 and getting ready to enter into the military. After my sister there were a host of other cousins that became pregnant. I saw there struggle on a daily They all graduated from college and went on to successful careers and marriages. But the struggle was always there for them. My sister went on to have two more children and while I appreciate being an Aunt. I appreciate even more greatly my freedom. I know this may sound selfish. But I am able to give my nieces and nephew the extras that their mother cannot provide. Traveling and fieldtrips and sleepovers and ultimately time.
Someone told me a long long time ago that just because you birthded a child does not mean you are a mother. And just because you did not birth a child does not mean that a child cannot call you mother. It truly takes a village to raise a child and I am lucky enough to call myself part of that village. I have no regrets about my choice of not having children. Although my mother, sister and now nieces guilt me from time to time I am comfortable with the choice that I have made.
