Another thought I had while I was sitting here reading this great thread, was that DH and I are going to WDW in May. We will be going on the Platinum plan that is all inclusive of recreation, massages, fireworks cruises, preferred seating for fireworks and Illuminations, Fantasmic special seating, etc..etc.. Check out the plan on the Disney website. You will be amazed at what is included.
We will be staying at the Polynesian Concierge for 11 days and then transfer over to the Yacht Club for 10 days. WOO HOO!!!!!! What a trip this is gonna be. Romance is in the air! Yes, indeedy!!!! WOO HOO!
We could NEVER afford that type of trip with kids and believe me going to WDW with DH is like going with a big kid! LOL! Of course I turn into a squealy little girl at WDW or DL as well so we ARE actually our own kids!

LOLOLOL!!!!!
It is nice to be pampered and not have to worry about what to do with *the kids*. Our furry kids will be nice and safe at the Kennel with people who love them and know them well, because we are able to take many trips to DL and WDW.
We do the 3 week Platinum WDW trip once a year. We spend other vacayshes at DL, a week at a time. I like the freedom to tour the Parks as we want and have romantic sunsets in World Showcase or on the balcony of the 12th floor of the Coontemporary. It is so cozy to sit and hold hands and watch the fireworks from there too. This year at the Poly and the Yacht, we will have a different experience. Next year, I think I might want to try the Animal Kingdom Lodge and enjoy the Sunrise and Sunset Safaris and maybe check out Grand Floridian. We try to stay at a different place every trip to see what the differences are and how we like them. So far, the Contemporary is our very favorite because of the great view iof the MK from up high. I am so looking forward to Stormalong Bay this next trip.
I am so happy I never had kids and I can say that with conviction. I decided VERY young to never have them and at 54, I still am very content and happy. My husband is 44 and is very happy with our romantic relationship. We have quiet mornings just watching TV in bed and go to lunch together and do pick up for dinner quite often.
The only thing missing is living closer to the magic! And that is being worked on. The house is for sale, half of our *stuff* is packed and ready for a garage sale and we are looking at places when we go to WDW in May.
It may be a while before we can buy a home in Florida til our house sells. We want to move there ahead and rent while our house is on the market and then we can get an idea if we REALLY want to move there or back to California. This time the move would be to So Cal. We are Northern Californians, born and raised, living in Denver now. I miss the ocean so much.
And if Florida was not the right spot for us, maybe So Cal wold be. We really wan to work at a Disney Park, since we are retired and that would be fun and keep us out with lots of people. So we really have to check it out.
When I was in my 20's back in the 1970's, most people did not give it a thought. They just went ahead got married and had kids. Every other girl in my high school group of aboout 10 gals, had kids. I am the only one who did not. I was into being a liberated woman before it was fashionable and the ERA got apssed! LOL!
I keep in touch with my very best friend from high school from 36 years ago! WOW!!!

She married very young out of high school, had the kids and now she in some ways wished she had waited a bit longer to marry and done some things for herself. She is having a midlife crisis about it. She tells me how lucky I was to live my life the way I did. Making my own decisions and doing what I wanted and not marrying til 46 ys old.
She tells me she does not know herself very well other than as *Mom* and *Grandma*. She tells me she needs to find out who SHE is inside. She never had the chance to seek that out all those years of raising kids and living the married with children life.
I understand that need to know yourself. It is the way I have lived my whole life, not through the eyes of others and the labels they give me, ie; friend, mother (of furry children)

, child, sister...etc, but who I am as me, Susan!
She and her hubby spend some vacations with us and we met at WDW in 2006. We had so much fun, the 4 of us and I could tell she was having the time of her life! She was FREE!!!!! She has a son with two kids that had moved back in with them (they had NO where else to go) and my friend could not let them live in the street. He was not contributing to the household, did not work and put them so far into debt because they had to work more hours to support the son and the two kids, My friend and her DH paid for ALL the food, medical expenses, clothing, education expenses, toys and other expenses that a family of five can rack up! She just wants her life back. Getting away to visit us here and to WDW and DL were fun trips for her, but more than that they got her away from all those pressing comittments. She felt free and relaxed to get away from it.
SO, it is NOT always true that your kids will take care of you. They may come back and leech off of the parents if they are allowed to. She has now laid the law down, the grandkids have gone to their maternal grandmother since their mom is in Iraq and does not want the kids anyway, (never did)

and my friend's son has moved out at my friend and her husband's insistence.
The son and daughter in law are divorced. That is why he moved in with my friend and the daughter never really wanted the kids anyway. She is a career military woman.
Here is a great example of a woman who should NEVER have had kids in the first place. She does not want to raise them and she pays nothing for their support. She does not even want to see them. I met the whole family on one of our
Disneyland trips. The daughter in law came along with the rest of the family and was very cold to the kids, but the son INSISTED she see them. Sad situation, and kids are involved.
My friends are now trying to rebuild their credit so they can move far away from the kids. She does not want a repeat performance. They actually want to move down to Florida to be near WDW as well and to be near us when we move there. The four of us have so much fun together sans kids and it is a good, fun relationship. We enjoy each other's company and have enough fun without children getting involved. She can tell me stories about the kids when she was raising them and I listen, and I tell her about my life without kids and we enjoy hearing each other's life experiences since they took us down two very divergent roads.
We had lost touch over the years and it was not until 2006 that we found one another again via the internet and for our first meeting we met at WDW. It was incredible! NO kids, just 4 adults being big kids together!
There are as many stories about kids and not having kids as there are people and each one is unique. Each person has to make the best decision for their own lives. No one should press their opinions on anyone else. Whether it is disguised as friendly chatter or direct in your face comments, neither are appreciated by anyone. For those who have kids and love them, more power to you! For those who do not and know they don't want them, more power to you too! I made the decision very young and have NEVER once regretted it. I never once *changed my mind* as I got older, as so many told me I would. Follow your hearts and your own inner voices and you will not be steered wrong.
I LOVE this thread!
Susan