And where, given my experiences as a canine carer, do I now stand on the whole childfree business?
In the same way as I didn't want to get pregnant, I would never have voluntarily become a dog owner.
For starters, our minimalist flat in central London is all cream rugs and polished wood floors.
Then there's the fact that I have the near-perfect work-life balance. My job as a freelance TV and radio producer is stimulating and varied, working on shows such as the BBC's Breakfast and Today programmes.
. . .
They're the banal conversations of parenthood that I always feared, but with Chula I love it.
And it's exactly because she's a dog not a person that it's so much more entertaining.
I love the eccentricity of our semi-parenthood. Our trips to the cafe are a ritual I look forward to. Dogs are allowed and for that reason it's like a canine kindergarten.
Her friends are always there - Brock the bull terrier, Atash the Alsatian, posh pugs Charlie and Oscar.
I much prefer it to being surrounded by children and am thinking of beginning a campaign to make all cafes, restaurants and cinemas dog-friendly.
For someone who in the past has criticised the workplace divisions between those who have children and those who do not (all that sloping off early for little Jimmy's sports' day) that might sound a tad nonsensical? Well, what can I say? That's doting mothers for you.
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1 comment:
I, too, have chosen not to raise children but am absolutely devoted to my dogs. I do not consider my dogs to be my "children", though. My dogs fulfill my caregiving instincts quite admirably. I enjoy their company immensely and they teach me a great deal. I am absolutely able to keep them safe, healthy and happy. And they won't turn around one day and tell me how much they hate me and that I'm ruining their lives.
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