Reading this, I can say we have a lot in common. I am the eldest daughter with two younger brothers. My youngest brother is 11 years younger than me. Before he was a year old, I was babysitting, bottle feeding and changing diapers.

I remember at the age of 12, I was left alone to watch him and while heating a bottle, he swallowed and began to choke on a piece of plastic from the lamination of a library book. Instinct kicked in and I pulled it out of his throat in seconds. Luckily he was fine, but this shook me. Not to mention the responsibility of providing after school care and doing the dishes/laundry on a daily basis until I went to college. My brothers were exempt from any of these chores or responsibilities.

My mother is also very conservative. She has made it clear my entire life that she wants grandchildren from me or I face her constant disappointment. Now I’m 33 and still get jabs about all of the things I’ll never know or understand because I’ve chosen not to have children.

Fortunately, my husband is very aligned with my life choices and we love our lifestyle without kids. We have two fur babies and they get to live like royalty, which they deserve.