I don't think there was ever a time when I didn't want to have children. If you know me personally, then you would know that I always thought I would have 2 children of my own and adopt 2 children. The name, Autumn, was placed in my mind and heart at the young age of 18 and I would tell anyone that would listen, "When I have a daughter, her name is going to be Autumn". That name stayed with me for years and finally came true, 20 years later when I got to hold my beautiful baby girl, Autumn Annie.
Anywoo, during my life's journey, I can only recall a handful of women that have openly expressed to me that they did NOT want to have children. As a teen, an older woman explained to me how her and her husband made the decision to not have children because they did not want to raise them in the world we live in today (Yikes! that was over 20 years ago. I wonder what she thinks of the world today). In my younger years, I really couldn't understand that because I always thought that is what "ALL" women want...to become married and have children. It was all I had seen and known growing up.
As I got older and started to experience my own fertility issues, I was STILL ignorant to the fact that women choosing to NOT want children was unreal and I would assume they were masking their own internal fears of not being able to conceive (for whatever reason) and the easiest escape from reality would be to say they didn't want any. (Hey! What can I say...I was young and dumb and if you didn't think like me, I thought you were wrong. So thankful to rid myself of that mentality).
Before you begin to pass judgement on me, let's be real. When a woman states she does not want children no one ever lets the conversation end there. We either drop our jaws or begin asking a number of questions. Is something wrong with you? Are you able to have children? And let's not forget they are thrown into the category of being selfish. No one's first thought is she is child free by choice although we as women have that choice and that right.
If a woman chooses to have children or not, that is a personal choice and no matter what she decides she should be supported by loved ones, encouraged by friends, and accepted by all.
We hear all the time of celebrities making the decision not to have children and society gives them a pass but let's be clear, celebrity life is totally different from our everyday normal lives. However, I came across an article of celebrities discussing this personal topic. The article is titled, 11 celebrities on not having children, written by Naomi Gordon. Check out the article and see what celebrities are saying BUT I would truly love to hear the voices of women who have made the choice to not have children and how they came to that decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment