From the time I was able to have children, I knew I didn’t want to. I have loved the many children in my family; I just didn’t want to have one myself.

As a young woman, I had problems in my relationships with men, probably having to do with my very distant relationship with my father. One day in the early 1970s, I decided to try going to a singles bar. I picked up a stranger and slept with him. Then I discovered I was pregnant.

Abortion had recently become legal. A friend accompanied me to the doctor’s office. I stayed at her house that night.

Time and therapy greatly improved my choice of men. I’ve been married for 35 years to someone I love and enjoy being with every day. I’m an active mentor and support to many nieces, nephews, and their children and to two stepchildren and their children, who came into my life through my husband.

Not a day goes by that I don’t feel grateful that I did not have my own kids. I am not meant to be a mother; I am good at being an assistant to other mothers around me. It’s the right role for me.

Because I didn’t have children, I’ve had the time, energy, and money to give lots of critical help to the younger people around me.

A young woman I know recently resisted pressure from her partner and family to have a child because she knew she didn’t want one. She asked me if I’d ever regretted my decision. My answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. We are not all suited to be mothers. I am so glad I had a choice in the matter.