Monday Miscellany: No Kidding version

I'm having real problems commenting on blogger (blogspot) blogs at the moment, when I'm logged into my google profile. I even can't comment on my own blog! I don't know what's going on, but I'm trying to keep commenting either under a different login, or my Separate Life profile. Maybe I just need to upgrade my browser? I always use Firefox for No Kidding and ALI blogs, and Chrome for my other blog (so I can be logged in under the two different profiles at the same time). I wonder if anyone is having trouble commenting here? (I guess if you are, you can't tell me about it - doh! - or maybe you could do it as Anonymous.)

(Edit: I've rebooted and run a cache cleaner etc and refreshed my browser, and seem to be able to comment again. Yay!)

I just had some physiotherapy on an arm issue I've had for about 8 months, and aside from appreciating the neck and arm massage, I had a lovely chat with my physiotherapist, who was talking about becoming a women's health physiotherapist. She has fertility issues, and her mother had unexplained fertility issues, and we talked about the need for women's health to be top of mind, both in terms of treatment, politics, and education. It was great to find a kindred spirit. And I hope she gets to overcome her issues. As she said, she wants to have the choice. 

The Aust/NZ Childless/Childfree Fbk group I have joined keeps me amused with interesting articles and commentary, and funny memes. It's much more upbeat than the other generic (UK based) group I belong to, and helps us feel both understood, and good about our no kidding situations. That's invaluable. The discussion is real, honest, and often points out the benefits of not having kids, as well as the pitfalls. The humour is a little irreverent in an ANZAC way, and I really like that. And of course it reminds childLESS and childFREE of the commonalities of our lifestyle, and of society's views of us. If you're an Aussie or a Kiwi, check it out.

The aforementioned social media group let me know that there's a new book coming out from a Wellington author. I'm going to get her book (if it means a trip to the wonderful Unity Books, I'll go there personally, because their website isn't helping me order it at the moment!), but if you can't get it, this article is excellent. I love the title, "No Miracle Baby to See Here." Isn't that perfect? Because so many of us complain about articles about infertility that end in the miracle baby! She debunks a lot of myths (adoption, etc), and I loved her section where she talked about people assuming she has kids.  She said, 

"...if I like them, I rescue them. I’ll say something like Maybe you’ve seen me with my niece and nephew. But most of the time I just let them flounder. They’ve assumed I’ve got kids because they do, because most people do. Or maybe they assume I’ve got kids because I seem like someone who understands the true meaning of love, and they’re flustered to discover I don’t. Hey, I think I’ve earned the right to make that joke."

I saw another article, Who Does Better Aging Alone? It talks about the various networks older people living alone might have (family/kin based, child-based, limited, friend-based, or diverse), and who suffers from depression, satisfaction with their lives, etc. It's worth a read, and shows me that just because people might live with others, they are no more satisfied with their lives, and sometimes less, than those living on their own with a good network of friends. A key point was having people you could talk to about your lives, which I find interesting. Another reminder to build my friend network - mine is too narrow!