In our 60s, never married, no kids

Did we miss something?

“I was taught that there is nothing sadder and more tragic than being a single, divorced, widowed, or childless woman — yet it appears that I am all four of those things, and I am thriving. I have been taught that to live alone is a sign of great unhappiness and even failure, yet I live alone these days and I have never felt more deeply connected to myself, to my friends, to my work, and to the world than I do now.” —Elizabeth Gilbert

Brace yourself—I’m about to write something heretical:

To this day I am grateful, as a 62-year-old woman, that I took a hall pass on having children in this lifetime.

I’ve always felt—deeply—that raising children is the single most important work human beings can do, and I bow at the lotus feet of those who beautifully nurture the heart, mind, and character of the next generation.

It was precisely that respect that prompted me, at age 20, age 30, and finally at age 39, to close my womb to future offspring.

I had enough emotional maturity to know that I lacked the emotional maturity to raise children in a good way. I understood implicitly that, however “selfish” childless women are deemed to be, it would have been far more selfish of me to bring children into the reeling PTSD chaos of my younger years.

I’m apparently not alone in my thinking.

After centuries of pumping out babies on demand, more and more of us gals—especially in midlife and beyond—are choosing to nuke the lonely spinster stereotype into oblivion and set foot on solo terrain in the third act of our lives.

One of these women is Sheree Clark, a midlife courage coach who invited me to speak on her upcoming May Talk Series for Midlife Women.

I turned the mike around after Sheree interviewed me about eating joyfully and loving your body and invited her to exchange insights with me about the path we’ve each taken to child-free living:

Sheree’s May Talk Series will cover more off-the-beaten-track topics germane to midlife women’s lives, including

• Teeth and Your Emotions

• Rethink Your Drinking

• Why Pet Care Matters as You Age

• Abusive Relationship Recovery

• Celebrating Your Color

Whether you’re a happy mama or a carefree crone, there’s something for you in this talk series. Come join us.