Child -less

When people refer to couples who don't have children, they often use the word 'childless'. Now, quite apart from the fact this word implies some kind of 'loss', I also looked up the term in the online Roget II Thesaurus which gives the meanings as:
"Unable to produce offspring: barren, impotent, infertile, sterile, unfruitful"

I think it's fair to say, these meanings have distinctly negative connotations. In fact, as a childless person myself, the thought that people might be using such terms about me does somewhat annoy me. As far as I'm aware, I am not 'unable to produce offspring' nor 'barren', 'sterile' or any others of those words. In fact, my husband and I deliberately chose not to have children. Because, contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to make an informed, intelligent, sensible decision about whether or not you should have children.

I like my life, I am free to go where I want whenever I want. I am free to go on holidays whenever I want, rather than in the school holidays and I can go places I want to go to, rather than where there's good facilities for children. I am free to buy myself things, instead of worrying about how I'm going to have money for a new school uniform, new shoes, new clothes, new everything... for somebody else.

I am free to enjoy the company of other adults and have a calm, sane conversation with them without someone repeating 'Mum, mum' at me ad nauseum until I pay attention to them. I am free to have nights out with my friends whenever I like, rather than on the rare occasions when my husband or someone else kindly offers to look after my brats for a few precious hours. I am free to have sex whenever I want to! I am free to spend quality time with my husband and we are free to do things we both really enjoy.

So, I just want to say something to everyone out there who pities 'childless' couples:

I am not child -less, I am child -free!