I am not a freak.  I am not weird and I am not selfish.  I am just a normal thirty something gal…BUT I do not have children.  Believe me when I say that this is by choice.  I go on Facebook and on Myspace and I read different comments  from my friends who have children such as “Just got Johnny to bed and I feel wonderful!”  or “Yay!  Sarah is eating solid foods now!” and I think to myself that this is such a foreign world to me.  Pregnancy, what some people say, is one of the greatest miracles one can ever experience.  To me, the thought of being pregnant seems like a death sentence and,  in simplest of  terms, grosses me out.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love children.  I have spent the last 15 years of my life teaching children and teaching parents how to be better parents as an educator and a consultant.  But I like the feeling that when I leave my job, my job ends at the office.  I can do what I want and go where I want.  I like the freedom of choice, spontaneity and the self assurance that I am living the life I was chosen to live.

Am I irresponsible?  Not at all.  I have bills and I pay my bills on time.  I have a pet I come home to every night who I feed, take care of and love.  I have close friends and family that I love and care deeply about.  I have a budding career just like any other responsible individual.  In some ways, I look at the fact that I am childless as a conscious and responsible decision realizing that having a child is a dramatic change in lifestyle that I personally do not want to explore at this specific time in my life, regardless of being in my thirties and my “biological clock” keeps ticking away.  I believe that when or if I decide to raise a child it will be at the right time for the right reasons.  Being in my thirties and scared that I will soon become “reproductively challenged”  is not a good reason.  Bringing children into my life to fill an empty void or to make myself feel “worthy” or “important” is not a good reason either.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have met millions of great parents in the world.  These parents being loving, strong, responsible and genuinely good individuals, the type of parent any child would be fortunate to have as a role model.  Parents who are raising children for the right reasons.  But on the other hand, as a consultant and educator, I have seen many people that take the responsibility of parenting for the wrong reasons  as well.  Whenever the day should come that I decide to have a child or adopt a child, I will be proud to know that I have made that conscious decision of parenthood for the right reasons, instead of being forced to take that role for the wrong reasons.