The Gentle No: Wanting What Wasn't for Me

As the eldest child born to a single mother, I was parentified at a young age. On the weekends when my mother worked as a nurse at the local hospital and all I wanted to do was be a kid, I was responsible for my younger brother and sister. That included everything from getting them dressed to feeding them and making sure they were safe. Growing up, I became increasingly more and more convinced that I never wanted children of my own. Instead, I concentrated on establishing a career and exper...