FORT Koffee Klatch

[prhoshay]

Is anyone else out there not familiar with a "golden birthday", like I was? I had never even heard the term until it was used on a judge show today. I looked it up, and it is when your birthdate matches the actual day you were born; I was born on July 17, so my golden birthday was when I was 17 years old.....TOTALLY was deprived of that "special" celebration! My education was, evidently, insufficient! Rip off!!!!

I hate it when everybody knows something and I dont!!

[pikachu]

I'm confused about when mine would be. I was born January 10, 1971. So would that make my golden birthday 1-10-2010? Or would it be when I turned 10, 1-10-1981? In either case, I missed it.

**Edited to add, I looked it up and it would have been the second, 1-10-1981.

[Gutmutter]

Is anyone else out there not familiar with a "golden birthday", like I was? I had never even heard the term until it was used on a judge show today. I looked it up, and it is when your birthdate matches the actual day you were born; I was born on July 17, so my golden birthday was when I was 17 years old.....TOTALLY was deprived of that "special" celebration! My education was, evidently, insufficient! Rip off!!!!

I hate it when everybody knows something and I dont!!

I wasn't familiar with the concept growing up, but found out in time for my own Golden Birthday. When I turned 26 on May 26 my boyfriend at the time took me to New York City. We went to jazz clubs and museums and drove home the next day. Fun and memorable. I'll have to remind my kids that they have Golden Birthdays coming up.

[Spoose]

And what about the lucky few leap day babies that celebrate their 29th birthday on Feb 29 of a leap year? How special would THAT day be? Diamond? Platinum???

Thanks to all of those who posted your thoughts on dealing with the decision to remain child-free. I knew there would be a mountain of wisdom on this forum.

[JohnnyK]

What happens to people who have their birthday on Feb 29? If they live 30 years, how old are they?

Today we went shopping. I saw a half-pound Reese's cup. I want it. $6.

[pikachu]

If I got a half-pound Reese's cup, I'd have to buy a tube of Orajel, too. I get canker sores when I eat too much chocolate.

[KatesMom]

I've seen that 1/2 pound Reeses before, and I so want it!! On the Golden Birthdays, apparently I was totally sc**wed, and then I did it to both of my kids too! My birthday is on the 3rd and my kids birthdays are on the 1st and 2nd! So all have passed before I even knew what they were!

[Ellen]

...are there any childless and happy FORTers...

Late to the "party" here, but things have been a little hectic:
Anyway, my hubby and I are childfree by choice.
Given our health and economic situations, we felt that it would be irresponsible to procreate, even if we wanted to. Neither of us has ever wanted to be a parent; we saw that as the first and most telling "sign" that we should not be parents. I teach/tutor; that's more than plenty of "kid interaction" for me. I'm great with kids in a teaching/tutoring environment, even a few hours here and there with cousins and friends' kids. 24/7? No.

We actually get worse flack now (in our 50s) for being pet-free by choice.
Never mind that I have allergen-induced asthma (primary allergens that induce my asthma are pet dander/epithelials, tobacco smoke, some other stuff) for which I can't just "pop a pill" or "take a shot." Never mind that we live in a smoke-free, pet-free apartment complex. Never mind that we're not in a position for reasons of health and economics to commit to the responsibility of a pet.

To people who ask the questions of why no children, we just say that we've never wanted to be parents. If the person persists (rude!), I simply repeat, more firmly and with The Look: "We've never wanted to be parents."

We've started to look into childfree-by-choice meetup groups, but so far all we've found involve pets. So that might work for you.
(Our life has gotten pretty busy lately, so my search for childfree and pet-free groups is on hold at the moment...)

[pikachu]

It's amazing how nosy and judgemental people can be, like if your life doesn't follow X-Y-Z order (graduate high school, get a job, go to college, get married, have kids, etc), they treat you like a freak and have a right to question you on why you're bucking the natural order of things.

Sometimes life doesn't play out like you planned it to or maybe you chose to follow a different path. I don't see why it's anyone else's business, as long as you're not hurting anyone else. You shouldn't have to come up with some legitimate explanation for why you don't have kids or don't have pets.

I have relatives that are very judgemental. They don't come right out and say they don't approve of me but from their tone and the questions they ask, it's apparent they see me as lacking in something. It hurts me that they can't just accept me as I am.

[prhoshay]

Another drawback to having children...and I have one son....is that you NEVER know what you're gonna get.....like that box of chocolates. I've seen some pretty bad situations! Heard about this doctor couple, who lived in my sister's hometown, who had 2 children...both, of whom, were schizophrenic. One of them murdered both of the parents. Now, who could have seen that coming? Who would want to take that on?

It can be an awfully unpredictable venture, that's for sure. Like Oprah says, "Doubt means don't."

Unless you know you are "all in", I vote steer clear.

I have NO problem with people who opt not to procreate.