I'm not childless - I'm childfree!

I am not a mother. I never really wanted to be a mother. It never fit into my life's plans, nor those of my ex-husband.

I congratulate and applaud all the mothers who are raising children by choice or by circumstance. It's just not for me.

Some people seem surprised, as if all women are supposed to have a natural yearning for motherhood. They seem to think I'm in denial. Usually they feel sorry for me, which is a huge waste of energy.

But the worst of it is when they refer to me as "childless" - a word that suggests that something is missing from my life.

I don't think of myself as "childless". I prefer "childfree".

Take THAT, GOP misogynists!