To Conservatives: I do not want kids, so get over it!!!!!

[Squinch]

163. Oh, boy. They sound like psychos.

Here's the thing: you have made a choice. It is based on sound reasoning, and it sounds as if you feel it is right for you. And guess what? That means IT IS. There is no one else who can make that choice for you, and no one else who has the right to judge the choices you make with your life.

If this is your family, and they are doing things that eat you alive every day, and if they have encouraged their acquaintances to judge you and treat you badly too, you need to think about that.

I have had the experience of having to walk away from a member of my family because she was simply and eternally abusive to me. It is difficult, and feels very unnatural, but in the end it was one of the best things I ever did. Through the years I tried to keep our relationship going because I kept telling myself, "it's family." But in submitting to her behavior, I was supporting her view of me, rather than my own. When I let her go, it was very strange for a while, but then it was as if I had a boulder taken off my shoulders.

It doesn't matter why they are doing this. It doesn't matter what they expected of you or why they are giving you a hard time about this. All you need to know is that they are not accepting your decision about how you are going to live your life. They don't get to do that.

Walk away from them. For the next few weeks, limit their access to you as much as you can and see how you feel. And know that no one but you gets to have an opinion about how you live your life.

Good luck!