My best friend doesn’t want children and I envy her for it.

I feel like I married my husband for the wrong reasons.

I’m in my thirties now, married for three years, and I can hardly wait to start a family of my own. Just last night, I had a dream so vivid, it still fills me with joy just thinking about it. I’ve known since childhood that I wanted to be a mother. The thought of my future children loving me unconditionally brings me such comfort and happiness.

There are times, though, especially when my husband and I argue, when I feel unloved and rejected by him. In those moments, I often think to myself, “If only I had a baby, I wouldn’t feel this way. I wouldn’t feel so unwanted.”

But a question has always lingered in the back of my mind: would I still feel this strong desire for children if I hadn’t always imagined myself as a mother? Would I have even married my husband?

I have a childhood friend, someone I’ve known since we were toddlers. Whenever we played house as kids, she never showed much interest in the whole idea of a family. It always felt like she only went along with it because I made her. Now, as adults, while people around us are getting married and settling down, she doesn’t seem to be in any rush to do the same. I couldn’t help but wonder why, so eventually, I asked her…