Childfree - A handbook for the curious

Find a hobby.....or two

So you're not planning on having kids, so what do you do with your life. Being childfree doesn't mean bury yourself in work to compensate or treat your husband like the surrogate child you never had- trust me that will only lead to resentment. It means you live your life like anyone else. You have the added of advantage of waking up later, taking extra trips, going where you want, when you want, but trust me that can get boring pretty quickly.

Another one of the many traits that form my identity is that I am a workaholic, it started out as a need to prove myself is a male dominated work environment and it turns out that it's just a part of who I am. Whatever I am tasked with doing, I like to do it to the best of my ability, and at work I tend to go overboard. On reason I am probably able to do that is the fact that I have no children to attend to. At work this is not always a plus, because sometimes you get stuck doing things that others with children related responsibilities would not have to do. This is only a plus if it means out of town for work, stuck at the office- not much fun.

For those on a career path it may mean that you have the time you require to throw yourself into work, but all work and no play....... I learned this the hard way, after years of just work to home, home to work, I was bored out of my mind, especially at the odd times when my husband had to complete his tertiary education goals. So I had to find a hobby. For me it's the pursuance of higher learning and writing. I am not saying that's what you should do. What I am saying is find something you like and pursue that.

Why? You might ask, because there is only so much work and house work you can do. A hobby allows you to indulge in something just for you, gives your partner the alone time he may desire, and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. This last one is extremely important, because in your later years you will look back and wonder, "What did I do with my life?" It is at this point where some people begin to regret their decision not to have kids.