perk #3 - kid free

this may sound counterintuitive, since some good friends of mine just had a sweet little baby that i love love love, but lately i've realized how thankful i am that i am not yet a mother. now before i explain my reasons for this, let me go on a short rabbit trail...

if you've known me for any length of time or have seen me around children, you'll know that i LOVE kids. especially the children of the same friends i mentioned before. those that know me well will have already heard this, but i want 5 kids. yes, 5. i have always wanted a big family. who knows if God has other plans, but hopefully that dream will be reality one day. one more little bunny trail (i promise i'll get back on track), for those that already have children, please don't tell me or anyone else that dreams of having a big family one day that we will "change our minds" or anything else that stamps on a girl's dream. maybe i will change my mind, but maybe i won't. just sayin'. All that to say, i want kids. and i will be thrilled when the time comes when i get to have them.

ok, rabbit trail over. recently, with so many people i know popping out babies, you'd think it would spark those desires of having my own. but that's not the case. quite the opposite. my freedom and lack of responsibility for raising another human being at this point in my life is...wonderful. my life is so chill and i don't have to deal with the stresses and pains that come along with raising a child yet. no worrying about their safety or well being, educating them and raising them with good values. i have the utmost respect for parents because it is a full time job, and i can't imagine having a career on top of that.

not to mention, they do that with little sleep. i love sleep. i love being well rested. i love being responsible for providing for only myself. i love being able to come home after a long day, plop down on my couch, turn on the tv and surf the net (which is what i did today). no screaming babies, no cooking for a family, only doing my own laundry, sleeping by myself in my own bed in a perfectly quiet house for 8 solid hours, before getting up at the last possible minute and going to work tomorrow, just to come home and do it all over again if i so choose.

then there is my future. as soon as kids enter the mix, i may not be able to predict what future God may have, but i will be able to have some general idea of the next couple of decades. predictability. but right now, unpredictability in the best possible way. i may be 27, but to me, the world is still wide open. i could go anywhere. i could pick up and move at the drop of a hat, if i so desired. i could go live abroad for a year like i always dreamed. i could do that, because i'm not tied down in a way that would prevent me from dreaming that big. before any parents get in a tizzy, i'm not saying that they can't have adventures too. but there are limitations when someone is a parent that i do not have at this time. married couples with no kids could have the flexibility to pick up and leave, but still, more limitations than a single person. two jobs to find, two opinions of where, when, and how, and a compromise to reach. but not me. i get to decide where to go, what to do, when, and how.

so many reasons I'm thankful to be kid free for now. my freedom and flexibility are off the charts, and i'm loving every minute of it.