Ages?

[Sherielle]

Ooh, Pod of the Silver Fin! I like it!

We should start it.

[Mermaid Galene]

I'm in! Silver Finners, unite!

[Merman Dan]

"You whippersnapper fish better get off my lawn!"

[deepblue]

I just want to add that having my boys is the best thing I have ever done. I have never had so much love in my life before. It's like little pieces of your own heart walking around on the outside.

That's the way I describe motherhood, too! My daughter... my heart walking around on the outside. And it's not just love, it's this... all encompassing, soul-filling love, there is nothing I would not do for my child. Move mountains? No problem. Breaking past cycles of abuse so it is NEVER a part of her life? No problem. Mothering instinct takes precedent over all else. And since I had her at 39, I feel sooo lucky. I thought I'd be childless. (I know for some people it's child-free. For me it was childless.)

Pod of the Silver Fin

No thanks! I cannot imagine identifying as silver or grey until I'm in my 70s. At least. If even then! haha

At 44, the number means so little to me I still sometimes forget and almost say another number! Age can only define you if you want it to. I'd rather be ageless and timeless. Even when I am one day all silver haired and elderly in an awesome way.

[New York Mermaid]

I will be 33 (or 330 years young) October 29th

[Mermaid Neri Elvina]

I will be 33 (or 330 years young) October 29th

You have the same birthday as my Dad!! Lol! My birthday is October 28th I will be 14

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[Vrindavana Starfish]

(I know for some people it's child-free. For me it was childless.)

Thanks for making the distinction. For those of us who are child-free and happy, it's really hurtful when people describe us as "childless," as if we're missing something in our lives, because we're not. But we understand that it's different for other people, so it's really cool when people understand that sometimes it's childless, and sometimes it's child-free.

[MarkF]

I've had 3 friends now that have kids at 45. Two of which were first kids, the other thought she was off the hook because 15 years earlier her husband had a vasectomy. These thing heal with time apparently.
Hah, your not child free or child less yet.
Sometimes life just surprises you.

[SeaMansa]

I'll be 20 in a few weeks.... I am really not even excited for that at all >_>

[Vrindavana Starfish]

I've had 3 friends now that have kids at 45. Two of which were first kids, the other thought she was off the hook because 15 years earlier her husband had a vasectomy. These thing heal with time apparently.
Hah, your not child free or child less yet.
Sometimes life just surprises you.

Life may surprise me, but I am in fact child-free. I've made a conscious, well-thought through decision to be. If something surprises me later, then that's later, but I am definitely child free until or IF that ever happens.

[Mermaid Galene]

I am without human children, but I have never considered myself child-free. I have shared a deep and abiding love with my furkids and finkids over the years, and that bond satisfies my nurturing instinct. In my nearly 3 decades as an entertainer, I have also enjoyed working with hundreds of children, and that has been satisfying, too.

[MarkF]

I'm not promoting guppies, just the tone of the comments are so adamant and your lives not over till the end of time. Till then don't close you heart to dreams whether gaining friends, family "fuzzy or slip on scaly.
I believe in serendipities and there always room for more.

[Mermaid Momo]

I'm still young, but I know I want kids (3 to be exact, it's sort of a tradition in our family that everyone has 3. though it started by accident haha. My parents just say that when you have 3 they organize themselves lol. If 2 are fighting, there's one to either cheer it on or stop it haha) I want to have the last one in my late 20's because one thing I learned from my parent's having us 3 so young is that they were able to do so many things with us because they weren't limited by things caused by age like not being able to chase us around, or pick us up, or rough house with us. And now, my dad is 40 and mom 39 and they only have 1 kid left at home who moves out next year, they're enjoying their time without kids, we're old enough now that they can leave us at home and enjoy themselves and start planning their retirements (sadly that also means that my mom keeps bothering me about kids too because she's going through empty nest haha)

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I'm child free but that's because I chose to be. I just don't have the patience for kids. I'm fine with kids that you can GIVE back!

[deepblue]

So why is it that so many people are seeing themselves as Old because they're over 30? Or 40? Ore even 50?

This stuff is entirely subjective.

[Echidna]

I am without human children, but I have never considered myself child-free. I have shared a deep and abiding love with my furkids and finkids over the years

wonderfully said!
It's a great (if not the best) way to share love and caring without hurting the planet even more.

Not to mention fur- and finkids are usually much better behaved than even the sweetest human child ever, and they don't grow up to tell you they hate you, do drugs, hang out with evil people, and all that jazz.

What I've seen of other people's kids over the years was quite enough, I don't need any of my own, tyvm

[New York Mermaid]

You have the same birthday as my Dad!! Lol! My birthday is October 28th I will be 14
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Awesome!!, I also share my birthday with one of my favorite actors Richard Dryfuss, who played Hooper in JAWS. I always hold the Belief that you are only as old as you act/feel, I feel like im in my late teens/early 20s.


As for children I just tell everyone," Its not in the cards for us, we are happy where we are, maybe in the future".
When the truth is: Im able to conceive but not hold to term. My first and only pregnancy turned into a difficult miscarriage that I ended up in hospital for 2 weeks, I was told by the doc in order for me to have a full term pregnancy would involve a surgery prior to getting pregnant and once there it'll be7 MONTHS of bed rest (Yea No not happening ever!). So the only Kids I have are two amazing Quaker parrots which the oldest will be 10 years old October 30th.

Im actually quite okay with no kids, maybe one day we will adopt, my husband and I are not in a place to raise children, we want to enjoy our lives together before making a step forward in into parenthood.

[-Annwyn-]

31....and right now feeling like 86 because I recently picked up my fencing lessons again after 5 years and my body hates me, Lol!

[MarkF]

So why is it that so many people are seeing themselves as Old because they're over 30? Or 40? Ore even 50?
This stuff is entirely subjective.

It's weird, you don't see it. Just imagine yourself and one day someone says to you "you can't do that, your old." Your still you, you still enjoy and do your stuff. You look out at the crowd through your eyes and see everything to you seems the same as far as your concerned it is, but people try to remind you your old "Your like huh, what."
You can't get jobs past 50. When you go into a store look around at the people working there, no old people. Walk into a office, same thing.
They live in my world, I was here first and in my world I still do stuff.
Sometime it's like your watching Logan's Run.

[Vrindavana Starfish]

I'm not promoting guppies, just the tone of the comments are so adamant and your lives not over till the end of time. Till then don't close you heart to dreams whether gaining friends, family "fuzzy or slip on scaly.
I believe in serendipities and there always room for more.

I think I get what you mean, but the problem is, when those of us say we don't want kids, and are adamant about it (we can be, we have that right until something else happens), then people say "just you wait" or "don't close yourself to love," as if having children is the only way to experience deep, true love and joy in your life, or as if we're just immature and eventually we'll succumb to our biological clocks. Yet, no one ever questions someone who says that they want kids. It's a double standard, it's incredibly judgmental, and very insulting when people (I'm talking people in general, as a whole, and not you specifically) assume that your life is loveless and meaningless when you don't want kids. It's like the first thought people have is that you're damaged somehow, or stupid.

I, for one, really love kids. I taught them for years. They're awesome. But thinking kids are cool is not enough of a requirement to becoming a parent. Even those who were surprised with children gained the desire somehow to WANT to keep them and raise them. The fact that I've recognized that I do not want kids does not make me damaged, it means I have a deep understanding of exactly who I am and what I want. As far as "surprise! you're pregnant!" then there's always adoption, because other parents-to-be desperately want kids, and I do not.

I have a deep, loving relationship with my husband, and a few very close friends, and I love animals. My life is very far from empty, and people always seem to leave out the "you never know" bit when it comes to "Hey, I thought I wanted kids, and now that they're here, I feel like my life is ruined, it's their fault, and I'm going to take it out on them." That is a very, very real scenario that happens all the time and people find it inconvenient, because it's not socially acceptable to not want kids, so this aspect is ignored. Whether they're a surprise or not, children should be WANTED, and if you can't do that, then you have no business having kids. It doesn't mean your life is missing something, except regret. Some people do regret having kids, it isn't nice to talk about, but it's true.

Also, you're right about the age thing. I see it all the time, especially with work. I look much younger than I am, and when I started this job, I made the 50-something woman there very nervous. She didn't calm down until she learned how old I actually was, and I don't blame her. Everyone else in the office is young and tech-savvie, and she felt she would be seen as outdated and in need of replacing. This is one of the reasons I want to be in business for myself, because I don't want to face that in the future.