As told to Brandi Lytle
Kimberly and I met through Instagram. I love following along on her fitness journey, as well as seeing photos of her adorable kitties. After accepting unexplained infertility, Kimberly is definitely Creating a New plan Bravely and Courageously. But why don’t I let her tell you about that…
How did you become childless not by choice? (Infertility, chance, circumstance?)
Our main diagnosis, to me anyway, is unexplained infertility. I have a family history of infertility as well. Plus, I have had chemotherapy, but with the chemo I had, there was a very small risk of it causing infertility. The chemotherapy was also after we had been trying for at least 4 years, so I do not feel it is the sole reason for our infertility issues.
You are so much more than childless not by choice. Tell us about yourself!
I am in my early 30s, I work full time as a research coordinator for pediatric oncology, and I am a wife. My husband and I have been together for over 10 years and married for about 6. I also have many hobbies including running, hiking, biking, crocheting, knitting, sewing, cross-stitching, and reading. I have 4 fur babies (cats) named June, Kallie, Angel and Bailey. They are super naughty sometimes, but I love them all dearly. I recently started my own website, and I am working on content for my blog. My dream someday is to be a stay at home cat mom.
What roles are you redefining for yourself? and How are you redefining those roles?
I would like to think the role I am redefining is of being a woman not having children. I am so glad that we did the testing and researched the options, but in the end, none of them felt right to us and that is okay. It is 100% okay to say, “That does not feel right to me. I would rather live a full and happy life as a family of 2 than go through the challenge of fertility treatments and them not work.” I would like others to see that being a family of 2 is still a family and is deserving of the same respect that a family with children receives.
How are you Creating a New plan Bravely and Courageously?
This one is tough. The one thing I am doing lately that is super brave is starting a website and blog. It is not directly related to being childless, but I will share some of that on my website. I think since realizing it is okay to be different and not be a mother, I have opened my eyes to other possibilities. I had always dreamed of being a stay at home mom. Now that the mom (to humans) is not possible, I can still be a stay at home wife someday and hoping my website/blog will help me accomplish that.
Have you figured out your Plan B? If so, what is it?!
Our new plan B is to live life to the fullest without being parents. We are choosing to focus on all the wonderful things that we can do because we do not have children. For example, we do not have to baby proof our house, we can be spontaneous, do a last-minute date if we want, we can take annual week-long vacations, we can run together, and train for obstacle course races, and I could go on. We are realizing that, although children would add to our life, we can have a wonderful life as a family of 2 with fur babies.
What emojis represent the “. . .” part of your Not So Mommy… story?
I am on my desktop computer, so I do not have emojis. But the one that popped into my head right away was a cat, since we have 4 fur babies.
Thank you so much for bravely sharing your story, Kimberly! I completely understand your desire to be a stay-at-home wife and fur mom! I truly hope your blog helps you reach this dream.
Fabulous one, to check out Kimberly’s blog, click here…
Want to inspire others and share your story? Click here to find out how…
Featured Photo: Anton Atanasov of StockSnap.io
