Finding acceptance and moving forward

Sunday 16th September is about new perspectives. Our grief will lessen and we will find new dreams. It doesn't mean that we will forget our desire to have been a parent, but it does mean our life can have new meaning. We can reflect on how we have moved forward since last year’s World Childless Week. What changes we have made in our life and hear from those who have found acceptance and embraced their Plan B.

Join Jody Day on Sunday at 5pm for a free webinar. Jody Day is the founder of Gateway Women and the author of 'Living the Life Unexpected: 12 Weeks to Your Plan B for Meaningful and Fulfilling Future Without Children'. To reserve a space please click here.

Read the content as we release it through the day. You can also join Lesley Pyne who is a World Childless Week Champions at 11am BST on Facebook and Stephanie Phillips ends the day at 7pm BST (right after Jody's webinar ends). Catch them both here Facebook Lives. Get social and share using our hashtag #worldchildlessweek 

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Jody Day webinar on Finding Acceptance and Moving Forwards
Jody Day webinar on Finding Acceptance and Moving Forwards

A one hour webinar with Jody Day, Founder of Gateway Women on 'Finding Acceptance & Moving Forward' recorded live for World Childless Week 2018.

Finding Acceptance and Moving Forwards, links we love
Finding Acceptance and Moving Forwards, links we love

Throughout the weeks to come and starting from today, we've compiled the links to sites who are also sharing content that the team and Champions think you'll love to read because the creator writes to our daily theme.

Walk In Our Shoes and World Childless Week by Berenice Smith
Survey Results for Moving Forwards and Finding Acceptance
Survey Results for Moving Forwards and Finding Acceptance

Do you feel acceptance is a relaity?

Do you have children?
Do you have children?

There is a question I’m asked that fills me with dread

The answer is a succinct ‘no’, I leave the rest unsaid.

OMFG, I’m complete and utter failure 'cos I can’t make babies!!
OMFG, I’m complete and utter failure 'cos I can’t make babies!!

A pretty bold statement to make right? Those who know me well, will appreciate I am partial to the odd exaggeration! However, ask my husband Rich and he’s heard me wail that many times over the last few years in my lower, darker moments during our 5-year fertility journey.

One woman’s journey through childlessness - Meriel Whale
One woman’s journey through childlessness - Meriel Whale

Grief-stricken and hopeless

I’m sitting on the floor of the bathroom, it’s 2 am. I’m crying, but very quietly, so no-one can hear. After a few minutes, I make myself stop, because after all, what’s the point?

Project Me
Project Me

Throughout my life I’ve struggled with eating. I’ve been dramatically under and overweight but my body image always places me as fat, ugly and childless. It’s the thing that I worry about after infertility in the early hours of the morning. It stops me standing on stages, going to events, meeting people and seeing my family because I feel that they judge my weight. I know that some people do because I hear and see them.

I get to choose by Carol G
I get to choose by Carol G

The journey of being childless not by choice has many twists and turns, detours, and dead ends. There are so many choices to be made along the way about how we react to the heartache of being childless not by choice, and who we develop into.

I want to share what I have learned so far, in the hope that it can be a help to others.

Lesley Pyne, a zoom chat and book reading
Lesley Pyne, a zoom chat and book reading

Hello, I’m Lesley Pyne, author of ‘Finding Joy Beyond Childlessness; Inspiring Stories to Guide You to a Fulfilling Life.’ I’m really excited to be involved in World Childless Week especially today, Acceptance and Moving Forward.

‘A child of all life’: creativity and re-imagining life without children by Emma Palmer
‘A child of all life’: creativity and re-imagining life without children by Emma Palmer
Beyond the C Zone... Moving Forward through 40 Challenges
Beyond the C Zone... Moving Forward through 40 Challenges

Fast forward to 2018, the year I turned 40, the number I’d always seen as the final cut off age to fulfilling my dream of becoming a mum. I felt stuck and knew something had to change if I wanted to beat the roadblock.

Rosalind Bubb - Easing the pain of being childless, using EFT 'tapping' video
Rosalind Bubb - Easing the pain of being childless, using EFT 'tapping' video

Would you like a simple and effective self-help tool, which you can use to help you to change the way you feel about being childless? - one which can reduce and soften the painful emotions, right now?

Naming Your Grief by Jennifer Parrish
Naming Your Grief by Jennifer Parrish
Week fifteen: a letter to motherhood ‘Mo’ - Elizabeth Broadhurst
Week fifteen: a letter to motherhood ‘Mo’ - Elizabeth Broadhurst

I wrote this 15 weeks after my hysterectomy

Life after childlessness by Victoria
Life after childlessness by Victoria

Moving forward, moving on, getting over ‘it’, coming to terms with ‘it’’, are just some ways my infertility has been described. It has never been labelled and has in some ways been brushed under the carpet and doesn’t get talked about.

Well I have now got to a stage in my life where I can now talk about my childlessness, why I don’t have children and how my life has now evolved.

And then one day joy showed up - A personal journey through grief
And then one day joy showed up - A personal journey through grief

I woke up one day and found that 6 years of my life had passed. Passed in a haze of sadness, exhaustion and despair. I had aged, white hairs had shown up, and life had moved on, seemingly without me. Friends had grown tired of waiting for me to come out of hibernation and had slowly, gradually stopped calling or inviting me out. It felt like stepping out of a deep dark cave into bright sunlight, it felt overwhelming and I wasn’t quite sure where to begin.

Finding Acceptance & Moving Forwards introduction by Stephanie Phillips
Finding Acceptance & Moving Forwards introduction by Stephanie Phillips

Today is not only about Moving Forwards and Finding Acceptance; today also falls on the 16th September which last year we claimed as our day.