Otherhood: Single Women Without Kids (Who Want Them!) Ep. 99

Sunday, July 26, 2020 is the 12th annual National Auntie’s Day—a day for celebrating the special bond between women and their nieces and nephews.  It’s an opportunity to highlight the unique and important contribution aunts make to the development of the children in their lives.  I’m an aunt and so are many of you, so I’m pleased to welcome the founder of Auntie’s Day and author of Otherhood: Modern Women Finding a New Kind of Happiness, Melanie Notkin, to the program!  In our conversation, Melanie and I discuss:

·        How women of The Otherhood manage their ongoing and currently unmet desire for marriage and family.

·        The question almost every woman of The Otherhood has asked herself, “Should I settle for a ‘good enough’ guy in order to have children?”

·        How to handle invasive and insensitive questions/comments about your life e.g. “You must have focused too much on your career!” or “Didn’t you want kids???”

·        The prevailing, yet inaccurate, assumption that women of The Otherhood delayed marriage and child bearing.

·        Grieving the loss of the life we’d expected, while embracing the joys of the life we have!

Aunties matter!  And, despite the fact our lives haven’t played out as planned, we women of The Otherhood, can be assured our nurturing and influence make a profound, positive impact on the children we didn’t create, yet choose to love.