Childfree Issues

Today my dad asked me if I felt left out of things and/or not taken as seriously as a woman because I never had any children. He brought this up because my step-mother, who is a very good step-mother, feels that her sisters (all mothers) do not regard her as their equal because she never gave birth. 

I told him that yes, at times, I do feel that way, though not as often because my close circle of birth-givers is basically like two people. Mostly it has been around family functions where I felt slighted.....great-grandchildren given things by grandfather, meaning those families got stuff and I did not. 

Outside of that, it was rarely a problem. I realize it's different for me because I CHOSE to be childfree, as I did not trust myself as a mother. 

I then reminded him that while my step-mom may not have given birth, she IS a step-mother and a grandmother.....and I think being a grandmother without having to raise children is a pretty glorious lifehack. 

I also reminded him that in the vast chaos that can be blended families, she has been a stable and calming force of a step-parent. I value that a lot. 

Given the issues that many women with PCOS have when it comes to fertility, I feel rather blessed and sheltered that I had no serious desire for children. Being childfree, as with being unmarried, is something I view as a lovely part of my life. I wish more people could see it this way. I wish others would encourage it.