with Maggie Dickens
 

Unapologetically Childfree

With Maggie Dickens

The corner of the internet where you find the Childfree Community you never knew existed but can no longer live without.

 
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HI! I’m Maggie and I’m

Childfree by Choice

I host an online social club of like-minded women who want to find friends that are balanced and with others that get the childfree lifestyle.

This is NEW and BIG and EXCITING … and SOOOO different from what

I was brought up with.

I’m the millennial that followed the rules: got the degrees, the jobs,

and the relationships I was “supposed to.”

And guess what, I NEVER really listened to what I wanted…until I did.

I want to share everything I've learned with you.

I will be your confidante, your to-go, your source for all things Childfree.

I deeply understand the hurdles you’ve jumped in order to come to this

massive (for some) decision.

I’ve figured out ways to live the Childfree lifestyle with joy, openness,

love, and freedom.

Let me tell you about what I’ve come up with.

 
Maggie Dickens standing against a wall next to a red door under a tree with pink flowers.

What does it mean to live a Childfree Life?

I get this question ALL.THE.TIME.

While for many, the answer is in the question: it means you live life without children.

More specifically, it means living without bearing, adopting, fostering, or marrying into the gaurdian/parenthood life.

Womxn arrive here by choice OR by circumstance.

What does living UNAPOLOGETICALLY childfree mean?

UNAPOLOGETICALLY CHILDFREE, MEANS THAT I’M PROUD OF MY CHOICES AND I SHARE THEM OPENLY.

LIKE I AM WITH YOU, RIGHT NOW.

I KNOW there are other womxn out there that want to live

this important decision more openly.

I’m not saying they want to change family members minds,

or shift an entire population to accept them and respect their choices

(that’s a whole other movement! One thing at a time!)

I’m making it my life’s work to live in alignment with what’s

important and meaningful to me and help other womxn get that alignment too. 

It has not been easy. 

I’ve hit the same walls and barriers many womxn have

when they’ve had to navigate these waters. 

And THAT is what I want to share with you. 

 

The childfree lifestyle

is so much more

than simply not having kids.

It’s you living your life on your terms

surrounded by the best friends

you never saw coming

but can no longer live without.

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I’m sure you’re Thinking,

“Sure Maggie, that sounds great

but all my friends have kids now

and our friendships have changed.

I feel so isolated.” 

I get it. I’ve been there too.

As a coach, a counselor, a friend and colleague to many,

I’ve had countless conversations with womxn about societal expectations,

personal expectations, and often the toughest one, family expectations.

I’ve found ways to ride the very emotional landscape of these situations. 

When you pass that big hurdle, and have the conversation with yourself,

your partner, your family, and maybe even a professional mentor,

and you’re securely in acceptance of the decision to be child-free…

The next step can be really fuzzy. 

Now what? 

Where do you

“find your people?” 

You know, the people that share

this important life choice?

Where you at?

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 I’m creating a space that invites

unapologetically childfree womxn

who aren’t sure just where

to find, build, and

maintain lasting adult friendships.

Childfree friends are out there!

And it is WAY more than sharing dog photos…but there is a TON of that. Just sayin’

You heard me:

Childfree friends really are out there!

and They want to meet you too!

Most of us have been there when a close friend has their new baby

and they disappear for 2-3 years because of parenting responsibilities. 

They have the family of THEIR dreams and when you have that

catch-up-coffee-date you realize you have few things in common anymore.

Not that you don’t like each other, but you just don’t have the same vibe together anymore.

If you’re one of these womxn who’s thinking,

“where are my people?” and

“Where are the other womxn who think the same way I do

and who aren’t going to disappear

because they are still open to the idea of children?”

the womxn inside the

Unapologetically Childfree

Social Club, got you covered!

They want to live this same life.

They are clear they don’t want children

and have come to terms with the reality of a childfree future. 

now that i know what I want, what do i do?

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I’ve known what I want for a long time when it came to how

I wanted to structure MY family (4 legged fur-babies were always my preference).

I knew my future didn’t include children. 

Because of the professions I chose, a counselor and coach,

I’ve learned a lot about the human condition. 

Taking my education into my own hands, I’ve also learned

how to apply those skills to answering very specific childfree lifestyle questions. 


You know the questions I’m talking about. 

The “Now, What?” questions:

 
  • Now that I know what I don’t want,

    what DO I want instead? 

  • Now that I know that hanging with my mom-friends isn’t like it used to be,

    what kind of people do I hang out with?

  • Now that I know I can have more consistent friendships with child-free people,

    what do I do to find them, connect with them and create lasting relationships?

  • Now that I know I’m not going to have kids,

    what can I do with my time, money, and professional life?

 

When I started asking myself these questions,

the typcial self-development stuff

just didn’t answer these questions for me.

Nothing really served me on

this particular life path. 

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 Sure, there are some wonderful books out there

on living with purpose or developing a professional career.

But so much of it was by men that certainly didn’t understand my choices,

or were religious or spiritual in ways that were difficult to apply to regular daily life.

And, unfortunately, the womxn in that space were about womxn who

“did it all.” 

We’ve all seen this bio on the back of a book,

“Author, Speaker, Wife, Mother.”

And while there’s nothing wrong with it, that word “Mother” dampens

my excitement a few notches because I know we fundamentally

view the world through different lenses. 

where are

childfree womxn

like me?

Let me tell you—Oprah, Dolly Parton,

& Margaret Cho just aren’t enough.

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Lucky for me, I’m pretty tenacious

and super driven to find solutions.

I know how to reach out.

I know how to be assertive and friendly and respectful and ask direct questions. 

I’m happy to report that

I’ve made great childfree

friends along the way and

I LOVE my friendships. 

The difference with these new child-free friendships

was that they didn’t disappear.

It wasn’t like in my twenties when people typically “figure it all out”

and then start disappearing because parenthood called. 

These new friends I was making knew

that kids weren’t in their future.

We could have phone calls that wouldn’t get cut off at

5 minutes because a parenting duty came up. 

Listen, I don’t begrudge any of my friends' choices.

I truly love that they’re happy and healthy and living their dream life.

I see them make new, mom friends, people who can directly relate to their worlds

and I truly am happy they are getting their friendship needs met.

I wanted that too! 

I wanted to know that the friends I was making were actually going to stick around

and that our values were the same.

They weren’t “Whatever the universe decides,” around the idea of children or,

“If it happens, it happens” type of people.  

These womxn I was finding KNEW

They KNEW their lives would not include children and

they were happy about it. 

I’ve also met friends that were childfree by circumstance

and found out they weren’t able to have kids, or the opportunity had passed.

These womxn embraced this new future! The future that was decided for them.

They weren’t going to be parents, biological or otherwise.

Their future wouldn’t include children.

I wanted to create a space

for ALL these womxn.

The womxn who KNOW they don’t want children. 

The womxn who want to talk and bounce ideas off of other womxn with the same view. 

The womxn who aren’t “on the fence” about it. 

I want you to know that I will be 100% real with you.

I may not be over the hill yet, but I’ve wasted enough time to

know what I want NOW.

If you are ready to embrace a future of childfree living and

make lasting friendships,

follow your dreams and have built in support for it,

you are in the right place!

Join The Unapologetically Childfree Social Club

& start seeing how much your life can GROW

with friendship, support, and clarity that lasts.

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 holy banana boat,

you’ve done so much scrolling!

Thank you for sticking with me and congratulations for beginning this journey for yourself. Here are some great places to continue growing and building your #yeslife.

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 After working with so many women on how to live unapologetically,

this is what they say:

“I can’t believe I finally found you.”

I needed to hear that I wasn't selfish, I just didn’t know it until now…Thank you!

“I didn’t realize I could live so openly, or that I had even been living in such isolation.”