Hello folks,
I was wondering if anyone here is an only child and / or if they know of any older people who have gone through life as a childfree only child and been ok?
This is the situation I find myself in (I'm 36 and I think very unlikely to have children) and recently it has hit me like a ton of bricks.
I'm not overly concerned about old age in terms of care (I have a very good financial buffer and obviously you can't rely on children to provide it anyway) but how on earth do you deal with the lack of connection without family (I do hope to have my partner for a long time though). Can you really make a 'family' of your own through community connections (volunteering etc) as some seem to suggest?
I'm feeling really sad about the rest of my life at the moment. There is some good (a lovely partner and financial security) but society seems so geared towards families, that I'm feeling increasingly scared and like I don't belong.
Thank you for reading.