come feed the rain

So, for pretty much as long as I can remember, I have never wanted to have children. My parents point out daily what a nuisance we are and how much money they spend raising us (a mostly thankless job), and while their sentiments reflect rather poorly on myself and my brother, I agree with them. Having children is a ton of work, costs a lot of money, and at the end of the day you have pretty much no gratitude to show for it. Not to mention the fact that, as a woman, I would end up having to carry essentially a parasite in my body for nine months (all the while throwing up constantly and gaining a ton of weight), then going through an incredibly painful ordeal to expel it.

It's not that I don't like children. I do - in small doses. I don't mind playing with my little cousins for a few hours, as long as I'm not the one they come home to with their needs and wants and problems. In my opinion, children are cute to look at, but not to have. I personally see them as a waste of time, effort, and money. I can't imagine the pride you feel as your son/daughter graduates from high school being worth the financial difficulties it takes to put him/her through college.

I think these are pretty fair reasons. I don't need to have children to be a contributing member of society, nor indeed is everyone cut out for parenting. However, my dad thinks I'm being selfish. "You don't want children because you have to take care of them and pay for them?" he asked last night.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm really angry with him for that. So what if I'm not willing to do the work and spend the money on a child? No one would fault me if I didn't want to get a dog because it's such a big responsibility. But the minute I say I don't want to have a child, I get frowns - or worse, "You'll change your mind." Um, actually, at the moment, there is no thing I would rather do less than have a child. If I found out I was pregnant, I would get an abortion faster than you can say pro-choice. I don't think this makes me a horrible person at all. Who says I have to have a child? Where is the law saying that, because I'm a woman, I have to be a mother?

What are your thoughts? Do you think I'm selfish for not wanting to have children due to the responsibilities involved? Or is my dad just being a prick?

Dear Obnoxious Kid In My English Class,

( Cut for a rant on 'liberals'--don't click if easily offended )

Sincerely,

an incredibly pissed off anolinde