Hi!
I’m waking up from my 10th nap in two days. After hosting my nephews for a whole week, I’ve returned to my childfree life! And it’s taking a hot minute to replenish my energy.
The older I get, the more I understand and appreciate my decision not to have kids. The time and emotional investment one must make to raise a (hopefully) decent human being is ginormous! If I had the desire and passion for doing so, I would have. But I don’t.
Personal space is an investment I make. Sure, my rent would be far less if I had a roommate or two. I’d still have my own room and bathroom and garage parking. But I’ve done the roommate thing. Not for me! People make me tired. I love and adore having conversations with people. It gives me great pleasure to have deep conversations daily, especially around the subject of being childfree. To have those conversations, I need to recharge and refresh myself. And that requires space.
30,000 downloads!
I’m super proud of the podcast I’ve co-created and co-host with Kristen Tsetsi and Isabel Firecracker. We met online in 2019 and formed Childfree Girls as a bi-weekly web series. In March of 2020, we expanded to a podcast and reached 30,000 downloads last week! So, a huge shout out to all of you who listen! And if you haven’t listened to or watched the series yet—whatcha waiting for???
Haha.
Click the image below for the YouTube channel or search Childfree Girls on Spotify, iTunes/ Apple Podcast, Podbean, Google Podcast, PlayerFM, and more!
Podcasting is fun, therapeutic, and a TON of work, even when you work as a team and divide up all the tasks among three people. If you’ve been reading these newsletters for a while, you may have noticed that this is the second week I haven’t included my other podcast Accidental Parenthood. That’s a podcast collab I do with my brother, who is a dad. Having my nephews visiting for a week pushed back my editing time, so I’m still working on episode 13.
I’m able to dedicate my time fully to creating and growing my childfree lifestyle brand, The Bitchy Bookkeeper. And there are times where I have to choose what areas to focus on. Being consistent is key to growing anything, and when you make commitments to your audience, you want to honour that as best you can. So, even if the newsletter is a day late, it will still show up for you!
Childfree Morning Chat
It’s been a month since I began Childfree Morning Chat on the Clubhouse app. Every weekday, I get up at 8 in the morning and host a two-hour room in Childfree Club (which I co-founded with my Childfree Girls podcast co-hosts). The conversations are different every day, with a diverse group of childfree women (and the occasional childfree man). We’ve talked about everything from racial issues to sexuality to paranormal experiences to our daily childfree lives. Nothing is off-limits. I’m not a morning person, but it’s so worth waking up for!
If you want to join in the conversation, it’s an audio-only app currently available for iPhone users. The app is supposed to be opening up to Android users in May/June.
Email me if you’d like an invite to join the app!
info@lenorafaye.com
2021 Virtual Childfree Conference
We’ve started announcing the speakers for the first annual Virtual Childfree Conference. The event will be live-streamed on Saturday, July 31! Follow the official Facebook page to watch the live stream and for all the speakers’ announcements! You can also sign up for email updates here!
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, what is most important to you? My answer, physical health and personal space. Personal space also includes emotional space. If I’m constantly worried about someone else or making decisions for someone else, how do I have the energy to take care of myself? Women are expected to take care of everyone around them and put their needs last. I’m a woman, but I’ve never felt that way. I can give time and energy to communities I advocate for because I have a lot of space, both physically and emotionally, to recharge. Some people gain energy by being in chaos and around a lot of people. That doesn’t work for me. Bottom line, you need to do what is best for you to be of service to others.
All the best this week!
Until next time,
LeNora Faye