I'll Admit It: I Resent My Child-Free Friends

[wolfpurplemoon]

On nights out, I sometimes catch myself watching my child-free friends. I clock the ease and insouciance of their movements. When they chug a sixth gin and cranberry juice, dance freely without realizing it's 3:00 a.m., catch the midnight showing of a new movie, roll yet another cigarette, or make plans with someone they just met at the bar, they are beautifully impulsive. They have no one to think about but themselves.

My friends remind me of a version of myself that existed only a year ago. Although I worked full time, my out-of-office life was not too different from theirs. I was still the epicenter of my own existence, and proudly so.

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Always nice to have a reminder of what you'll lose if you have a child.

Comments

[norfolkian]

I get what this person is saying about for example how much preparation has to go into everything when you have a child, but I disagree with the sentence, "They have no one to think about but themselves." I always think about my partner before I make any impulsive decision, and many childfree people also may have ageing parents or other relatives they are taking care of. Childfree does not necessarily equal no responsibilities.

[wolfpurplemoon]

Yeah that is very true - parents seem to forget that children aren't the only thing in life that you have to be responsible for.