Cheerfully child-free. Anyone else?

[luvwinnie]

Thanks, Goofygirl!

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Hi!!

Can I jump in on this thread of Cheerful people?

I didn't start out wanting to be child-free. I tried for years in vain to be a mother. I've been poked, prodded, operated on, taken pills, charted my temperatures, laid with my legs in the air until my backbone fell asleep !! so that I could "help" the little swimmers reach there target. We even tried the adoption route and that failed too!! I sunk into a deep depression like I had never felt before. But, like a phoenix that rises out of the ashes (and when you get to the bottom theres no way to go but up) I realized that life was litterally passing me by.

It was on a just me and DH trip to WDW that I started to climb out of the depression and realized that life is too short to keep on that fertility merry-go-round and I chose to start living and cheerfully enjoying the life I had been given. I made the choice to stop fertility treatments. I made the choice to never try and adopt again. Hell, I made the choice to get on birth control pills and I cheerfully made the choice to be child-free. I chose to take my life back.

So, here I am. But it sure is nice to find others like myself.

Well, there's my story. Thanks for letting me share.

 

[luvwinnie]

Hi!!

Can I jump in on this thread of Cheerful people?

I didn't start out wanting to be child-free. I tried for years in vain to be a mother. I've been poked, prodded, operated on, taken pills, charted my temperatures, laid with my legs in the air until my backbone fell asleep !! so that I could "help" the little swimmers reach there target. We even tried the adoption route and that failed too!! I sunk into a deep depression like I had never felt before. But, like a phoenix that rises out of the ashes (and when you get to the bottom theres no way to go but up) I realized that life was litterally passing me by.

It was on a just me and DH trip to WDW that I started to climb out of the depression and realized that life is too short to keep on that fertility merry-go-round and I chose to start living and cheerfully enjoying the life I had been given. I made the choice to stop fertility treatments. I made the choice to never try and adopt again. Hell, I made the choice to get on birth control pills and I cheerfully made the choice to be child-free. I chose to take my life back.

So, here I am. But it sure is nice to find others like myself.

Well, there's my story. Thanks for letting me share.

Welcome! I'm so sorry you went through so much grief...but it seems like you are happy now.

 

[goofygirl]

Wow, thanks for sharing!

I know of a few people who cannot have children and embraced the CF lifestyle. If they "slip" and feel sad about not having children, they nurture other people's children. On my trip to Savannah last week I learned that the founder of the Girl Scouts: Juliette Gordon-Low was childless. She's a great example of someone who did not let infertility rule her, instead she put her energy and desires into something that helped girls all around the world.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Welcome! I'm so sorry you went through so much grief...but it seems like you are happy now.

Thank you. And yessirree bob-a-ree-nee I am happy now. DH and I just sold our home a made an excellent profit and we are relocating to S.C. right outside of Clemson University where I am going back to school for engineering!!

Wow, thanks for sharing!

I know of a few people who cannot have children and embraced the CF lifestyle. If they "slip" and feel sad about not having children, they nurture other people's children. On my trip to Savannah last week I learned that the founder of the Girl Scouts: Juliette Gordon-Low was childless. She's a great example of someone who did not let infertility rule her, instead she put her energy and desires into something that helped girls all around the world.

I never knew that. What a great story. believe it or not I am an aunt to 19 children ranging in age from 23 to inutero. My DH is number eight of nine children so that's where they all come from. I've decided that it's way more fun being an aunt as I can spoil them rotten and then send them back (all sugared up ).

 

[maddhatir]

Today, I had to deal with an issue with the mother of 2 of my students. She got frustrated with me and (along with lots of other things) indicated that I couldn't possibly understand her feelings b/c I didn't have children of my own. Although she didn't come right out and say it, it was as though she thinks of me as less of a person or not "grown up yet" or mature b/c I haven't given birth. As if one day when I do have kids I will just understand everything and be wise.

Well, maybe she should understand that you can step back and look at "the situation" rationally b/c you are NOT a parent. She is a bit more jaded.

Not that I even know WHAT the "situation" was but it sounds good!

 

[MarleyMurphy]

Count me in to- happily childless- just me, my husband, and our two dogs. Every one of our friends have children and think there is something wrong with us for not. That's not to say that we never will but for now I'm very happy the way it is. It's nice to see so many people who feel similar.

 

[RC Fan]

Happy Friday to all!

I really want to thank everyone for keeping this thread going!

Have a great weekend!

 

[Hixski]

From some of these posts we have garnered that we are either not grown up or selfish in others eyes. I am 46. At what age did I go from not grown up to just selfish?

 

[PrincessKitty1]

DH and I just came back from the first weekend of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot! We had such a dreamy time. This was our first stay at a Moderate resort (we always stay at a Value or at the Dolphin).

I can hardly overstate the charm of the Caribbean Beach Resort. I was fascinated with the incredibly clever landscape design (including the inspiring use of simple materials such as rope and logs to construct fences and simple gazebos) and took lots of photos with the idea of eventually using some of the ideas in our own yard.

My favorites at the food & wine booths in Epcot were the Nobilo Merlot in New Zealand (served chilled) and the Spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie in phyllo dough) in Greece. We ate at the Rose and Crown on Saturday evening (walked in, no wait) and had one of our best Disney meals ever.

Here are a couple of photos from our trip (I zoomed in on the beach from the bridge that leads to Caribbean Cay, so it's a little blurry):

Oh yeah, obligatory childfree content: Oue trip was blissfully childfree, as always!

 

[gnbuggy]

Can I jump in on this tread? I just discovered it.We dont plan on having kids. DH has a 12yrold son from 1st marriage. And I have 2 wonderful nieces. But love the fact that they go home. DM calls our pets Granddogs/Grandkitties. Forever everyone said "you'll change your mind". Umm, no. I have always said that I wasnt going to have kids. I love reading the posts here.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

DH and I just came back from the first weekend of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot! We had such a dreamy time. This was our first stay at a Moderate resort (we always stay at a Value or at the Dolphin).

I can hardly overstate the charm of the Caribbean Beach Resort. I was fascinated with the incredibly clever landscape design (including the inspiring use of simple materials such as rope and logs to construct fences and simple gazebos) and took lots of photos with the idea of eventually using some of the ideas in our own yard.

My favorites at the food & wine booths in Epcot were the Nobilo Merlot in New Zealand (served chilled) and the Spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie in phyllo dough) in Greece. We ate at the Rose and Crown on Saturday evening (walked in, no wait) and had one of our best Disney meals ever.

Here are a couple of photos from our trip (I zoomed in on the beach from the bridge that leads to Caribbean Cay, so it's a little blurry):

Oh yeah, obligatory childfree content: Oue trip was blissfully childfree, as always!

These are beautiful photos! I dream of attending the Food & Wine Festival!

I'm dreaming now of staying at the Poly but I just checked prices and I just can't seem to bring myself to pay $315 a night. We did just sell our home and we did make a hefty profit and I thought we could splurge a bit but then I think we could also splurge on a Plasma t.v. that will actually last a few years. We own DVC and they are great accomodations and that's where we always stay but I've just always wanted to stay at the Poly. What's a girl to do? Anyway, just wanted to comment on your beautiful pictures. It's cold here today and looking at your pics. makes me think of warm tropical breezes. Thanks for sharing.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Welcome gnbuggy! I think I need to write a book called "I Never Changed My Mind." I'm 50 and heard this my entire life.

I'm sure some people DO change their minds, but what's really sad is when parents change their minds and wish they hadn't had children.

(That said, I don't mean to imply there's anything wrong with having kids or being a fence-sitter--I just wish that having children wasn't the default. Too many people out there unthinkingly popping out children, NWIM??)

ForTheLoveOfDisney, I saw your post re: making a good profit on your house and that is VERY exciting. I l-o-v-e hearing profit-making real estate stories. Makes me think DH and I should be putting our 403b money into a second home in St Augustine instead (my favorite fantasy!)

DH and I just can't justify staying at a Deluxe Resort for the reasons you mention. We can always think of a better way to spend our money , and the Deluxes are just SO much more $$ than the Mods or the Dolphin.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Welcome gnbuggy! I think I need to write a book called "I Never Changed My Mind." I'm 50 and heard this my entire life.

I'm sure some people DO change their minds, but what's really sad is when parents change their minds and wish they hadn't had children.

(That said, I don't mean to imply there's anything wrong with having kids or being a fence-sitter--I just wish that having children wasn't the default. Too many people out there unthinkingly popping out children, NWIM??)

ForTheLoveOfDisney, I saw your post re: making a good profit on your house and that is VERY exciting. I l-o-v-e hearing profit-making real estate stories. Makes me think DH and I should be putting our 403b money into a second home in St Augustine instead (my favorite fantasy!)

DH and I just can't justify staying at a Deluxe Resort for the reasons you mention. We can always think of a better way to spend our money , and the Deluxes are just SO much more $$ than the Mods or the Dolphin.

I agree wholeheartedly about not having kids should be the default instead of just unthinkingly pop them out. I know of several cases where people just had children because that's "what you're supposed to do" and then once they're here they DON'T want them!! I know of two cases right in my extended family. I also know of two cases where the girls got pregnant to keep their boyfriend. Guess what? The guys aren't with either one of them and now they have this child for the rest of their lives and for the rest of the child's life they are sharing custody and shuffling the child back and forth. Very sad indeed.

But I digress. DH and I just came through St. Augustine three weeks ago on our scouting mission. We really enjoyed touring the city.

You are absolutely right in the deluxes being so much more expensive. Just for kicks and giggles I checked out the price of the mods and the price that came back was $139 per night. The highest price was $215. For the value the price is $79 and the highest $137. Looks like we'll being staying DVC again.

Sometimes I just like staying in the "hotels" though with maid service. That's the only drawback I have w/ DVC. No maid service. There's just something about not having to make your bed on vacation.

How do you like the Swan/Dolphin hotels? Do they still have the "Disney" feel? I realize they aren't owned by Disney so I guess what I'm asking is, are you afforded all of the same things that the Disney resorts are? Like bus service, extra magic hours and package deliveries? Even when I was a teenager and I would drive by the dolphin hotel I would say, "I'm going to stay there one day." I just never have. . . yet.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing of your experiences with the Swan and Dolphin.

 

[gnbuggy]

Princesskitty1

I agree, people have kids b/c they think its what is suppose to happen.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

ForTheLoveOfDisney, I think the Dolphin has the Disney feel--very much so! It's right in the Boardwalk area, and a Disney boat takes you to Epcot or MGM or the Boardwalk. There is bus service, but we've never used it, as we just walk to the front of Epcot to catch the monorail if we want to go to MK, and I guess we've never gone straight from the Dolphin to the AK or DTD.

Both Epcot and the Boardwalk are an easy walk from the Dolphin if you don't want to take the boat.

There is no Disney theming at the Dolphin, but being right in the center of things gives it all a very Disney-ish feel (to us, anyway).

DH and I haven't used EMH while at the Dolphin, and we never charge anything to the room, and I just don't know about package deliveries...but I just happened upn a thread that seems to answer these questions:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1244348

 

[plgrn]

DM calls our pets Granddogs/Grandkitties.

Cute! My MIL does the same thing. She has 12 grandchildren (SIL's are breeders ) and she still treats my cats like her grandkids. Even brings them presents when she comes for a visit.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I'm dreaming now of staying at the Poly but I just checked prices and I just can't seem to bring myself to pay $315 a night.

We had always wanted to try the Poly too, and we finally did a few years ago around Christmas. I don't know whether it was that we had built it up so much or what, but we didn't think it was worth that much. It was nice, but it wasn't $300 a night nice. I actually liked Boardwalk better.

Sometimes I just like staying in the "hotels" though with maid service. That's the only drawback I have w/ DVC. No maid service. There's just something about not having to make your bed on vacation.

Why make the bed? You're only going to get back in it when you get home.

 

[OregonDisneyFanatic]

Princesskitty1

I agree, people have kids b/c they think its what is suppose to happen.

 

[gnbuggy]

Have you never met these people? They have kids b/c someone wants them to,or the ones at Wally with 5 kids, they yell at them like its the kids fault that the parent is bad at parenting. Those are some of the people I mean.