Despite my ex wife and I never being able to have any... I did learn that she recently became pregnant.
Ouch. That hurts.

I also learned that the guy kicked her out... at least, that's what I'm thinking, cause he moved in another gurl, and she's back with mom and dad.

Sucks to be her.

When some jerk asks why we don't have kids I tell them each of the last 15 kids died after just a few days and our back yard has no more room for burying a body.

I have the utmost respect for folks who realize they don't want kids and act accordingly. Sucks that so many unwilling parents don't have that discipline.

I just tell them that not having children has allowed me to retire at a young age, spend my time traveling with my wife while pursuing my interests rather than being tied to a corporate job and offspring that I didn't want. That usually comes with a stare of disbelief and some snide remark, but I just laugh it off.

Bang! bang! bang!

What? No bullet holes in the ceiling?

I have been in your shoes early in my marriage - enjoying the time without offspring - and again when we took our time between kids. But I can't say that strangers or acquaintances would hit me up. Friends may have asked, and that's perfectly fine. I think it is very insensitive to ask someone why they don't have any children. There are only two reasons:

1) They don't want any
2) They can't get pregnant and don't want to adopt

So, why the eff do people have to find out which one it is? And even if they ask, do they think they will receive a truthful answer?

I would tell them I had a vasectomy in college because I was scared I'd get half the sorority pregnant otherwise and that I don't want to bother re-connecting the plumbing. ;)

G

her take last night..
lots of folks with kids walk away..
not that they should stay because of the kids...
our marriage is a commitment..
not a breeding program..

no kids..
31 yrs last week..
watched her practice sword fighting last night..
she takes care of herself...
...and she can still so hurt me ;)

Rika

This just doesn't surprise me!

Mrs. Z & I have been married 17 years now, and no kids. The longer one is married, the more accustomed they become to a lifestyle without children. That seems to apply to us.

Still would be nice to have kids, but i sure am comfortable with my current lifestyle...

-Z-man.

I married late in life (not that is necessity in some peoples eyes to have children).

I love kids and playing with my brothers kids.

Then I married a lady with one teenage daughter, after that experience I think it is a good thing I didn't have children. Because I would have strangled them... then there all those court expenses... and I'm too pretty to go to jail!

RE: Marrying late in life... how about "why aren't you married?"... Oh I loved that one! Because you obviously can't be a whole human being unless you are married!

That was a pretty easy one. My answer was something to the effect, "Because I like to bang multiple women, ride motorcycles, shoot guns, take my Porsche to the track, travel the world and do whatever the hell else I want, whenever I want and without asking permission."

In fact, the only reason I got married is because I found someone who doesn't mind my doing most of the above, doesn't nag me about having kids and she's the only person in the world I don't get tired of being around after a few days.

When I was young, I just assumed that I would get married and have a few kids like (nearly) everyone else in the world. It never happened. Long story, mostly involving choosing a tough career path and not making $$ for a long time, plus maybe I'm a self-centered bastard who likes flying solo.

I nearly got married in college, I was completely in love with my GF and would have done it and never looked back, almost certainly had kids. I would also never have left Minnesota and my life would have taken a different path in every way. Unfortunately, (or not), the relationship did not work out and I never married or had kids. I still could, technically, I have friends having kids now who are my age. It's a little crazy, though. They will be 70 years old when the kid graduates HS. :rolleyes:

I always tell people that the biggest surprise of my life is not that I never married or had kids, but that I don't really miss those things, most of the time. I'd be lying if I said that I never think about it when I'm with some great kids of someone else's. If I had them young enough, they'd be ~30 years old now, which coincidentally is the age of a couple of my closest friends. I just turned 53 and I'll be the first to admit that I have the maturity and lifestyle of a half-decent 25 y.o. :)

I just spent the last 2 nights in Denver with a childhood friend and his wife. He is 51 and no kids. They've been together for 20 years. We got to talking about Global warming and other environmental calamities, he's a big traveler and outdoor adventure type and he was telling me to get down to the Florida Keys NOW if I want to see the great coral reefs because they're disappearing fast. I told him that I prefer not to think about those things, they just bring me down and I feel powerless to change them.

Then he dropped this: He said that the single biggest thing that anyone can do for the environment is to not have kids. It's no secret that the world's population is exploding and will reach 9 billion very soon. I countered that the places and people reproducing like rats are mostly in the undeveloped world and that in our demographic, there is actually a shortage of people having kids. (Ethnic Europeans in the U.S. and Europe). He said, "yeah, but one (relatively) rich kid of ours will use more resources than 300 or 3000 kids in India or South Asia."

So there is one thing you could say to the rude fks. :cool:

I have a non-profit client based in CA whose sole issue is controlling the population to protect the environment. Obviously, no American would ever decide to not have kids for that reason. They may cite that as a benefit for not having kids. But no one who wants kids would be talked out of it because of environmental effects of overpopulation.

Though I do sort of wonder about the prudence of bringing a child into this world. We all know the number of great parents is a lot lower than the number of people who think they'd be great parents.

generally the next question should be.........Why are you married?

Oh man! I just love this:

I cracked up laughing too. The cartoon needs redoing though - it has to be a sports car next to a minivan.

G

For some there is just safety in numbers. If you do it, it reaffirms their choice. If you don't, they want to know if your grass is greener.

I regularly have a conversation that I find just as tedious:

Them: When are you going to join Facebook?
Me: Never.
Them: Why not?
Me: I don't want to.

Being is statistical outlier doesn't mean you're wrong.

Our species, and unfortunately facebook, will survive inspite of the relative few who do not choose to propagate it. Some people don't understand that and it makes them nervous...even if only in a subconscious way.

Frankly, I wonder why the majority follows the same recipe.

School - Dating - Independent living - Work - Marriage - Kids.

Got to be something more to life than this same taste for everyone.

With all due respect, I think this is an ignorant and selfish position. Where would he be if his parents thought this way? What if his doctor believed the same. The next cancer researcher, teacher or soldier? So much for western civilization.

Sorry for my shock and pessimism.

If his parents had believed like that he would not be there to care. ;)