What do we regret?
The London Daily Mail reported that a survey commissioned by the U.K based Bradford & Bingley bank revealed that 22 percent of married women aged 35-44 regret their choice of husband. The survey also found that one in twelve of the women surveyed wished they had never married at all. 
Most people imagine that I will eventually regret my decision to remain childless. They think of me as childless, not childfree. But what, if anything, will I regret when I get older? This new survey suggests some of the possiblities.
It is interesting that significantly more women than men wish they had married someone else. However this wasn’t even close to being the top regret revealed by this survey of 1,250 British women.
What were the most common regrets?
Travel: 53 percent of those surveyed wished they had traveled more before settling down.
Money: 37 percent wished they had saved more.
That rings true to me. I have never wished for another husband, never wished for a child. But I do hope to save more so we can travel more often.
Close to one in four British women wish they had chosen someone else to marry. But that is a minority; 56 percent of the married women surveyed said they were "very happy" with their marriage.
Only one in five wanted another kid.
Flickr Photo by shapeshift
Technorati Tag: Childfree
5 comments:
That is so telling. I am going to make it a major goal to save more this next year and go on at least one trip.
I have never met a purple woman who regretted her "lack" of children.
I do wish I'd travelled more too. However, I'm determined to borrow money if I have to cos I know I'll regret it if I don't see more of the world.
I am trying to travel more now, and save more, it's so hard and I know that will be my major regret in the future...not saving enough.
There will likely be a time when I am in declining health, house-bound, and on a pension or fixed income.
There will be days when I am feeling blue, and dreaming of better, happier times. Those will be the occasions when I can pull out the photo albums or the laptop and smile as I recall the visits to the temples in Bangkok, the castles of Scotland, and the penguins on the beaches of South Africa.
And if am am really lucky, I'll have enough food in the pantry for me, my hubby (if he's still around), and the dog I hope to have, and just enough money in the mattress so that I will have two coins to place on my eyes when I die.
As a woman with two children (one adopted), I can say that I applaud you all in your decisions to not bear children. It is not everyone's calling to teach or to bring new carbon-factories into the world. Each person's decision is the perfect one for them, and any one who says differently is fooling themselves, not anyone else. But I'm preaching to the choir...
I love to comment above mine, it is beautiful and poetic. Sometimes I wish I had never had children to force me to stay in one place, "stable" during my youth. Oh what I wouldn't give sometimes to be child (and home) free again.
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