Member-only story
Let it be: parenting is NOT about selflessness.
In support of “Childfree Women, Please Quit Doing This.”
No one should have to defend their choice either to have or not to have children.
Let me be clear: I am not childfree myself. I have one daughter (see photo above) whose presence in my life, despite all the pain involved for a helluva variety of reasons, I am thrilled to have in my life. And only three miles away at that!
I am definitely not grandchild free, either. My daughter adores babies and has made a career out of her love of them. She had five of her own (lucky lucky me — with grandkids you get the fun, usually without all the self-sacrifice).
But in many ways that was “career training.” No, not career as a mom, but helping other women have the best birthing experience they possibly can, and providing a wonderful photographic record of those events.
Nonetheless, she and I both recognize that the condition of motherhood is not for everyone.
