Children or No Children?

It's a decision we all face. Should we have children or not?
For some women, the choice has been made before they were even old enough to decide for themselves.
Obviously, I've chosen the child route. As the mama of three living babies and one angel, I've obviously not chosen the career-oriented, wealthy, well rested route.
But I respect the choice of any woman who has. Its her right to choose.
But her right to choose ends, as a famous quote when her fist collides with my nose. Or in this case, my kids. Then I'm going to be one irate mommy, all over their butts demanding a apology and money for plastic surgery.
If someone doesn't want children, its best they not have any. Seems simple enough to me. If a person doubts or doesn't want to devote the rest of their life to another person, I'm okay with that. Don't have kids. Parenting is not a job you can resign from. It's a seemingly thankless task that you will have for the rest of your life.
But, eventually, you're thank you will arrive in the form of adult children who get an inkling of everything you did for them. (But its a long time coming and if you're in it for the thanks, you'd be better off getting a dog. They live a lot less time and are grateful for everything.)
But even if a person is childless, children are a fact of life. They are everywhere. They are necessary to the continuation of the human race. (Think Lion King and join me in singing the Circle of Life)
I agree that kids and some restaurants are a bad mix. And that kids throwing a fit in public is unpleasant for everyone--specially for the embarrassed mom. (I've lived it-- it really is a mortifying, sink into the floor kind of moment.) There are places I won't take my kids, and i try to time our outings to the time of day when my kids are at their best, but sometimes, there is no good time and groceries have to be purchased.
But I don't understand people who say they hate children.
How can you hate them? What have they done to you?
Just because your chose not to procreate, don't turn your choice into a hate filled tirade against an entire people, albeit a group of small people.
Look at the children and adults in training. Hopefully, they get good training, but sometimes management just isn't up to the task. That's not the child's fault, but the fault of the parents. Dislike the cause, not the result.
Look at the mother as a person. I am a college educated woman. I work full time and come home to put in another full day before bedtime. I not only have the care of myself to be concerned with, I have three other people who rely on me for everything. If I fail, its not just me that I fail. I have to look into my children's faces and know that I failed them as well. I will always choose with my children's well being in mind. I will always be divided between work and home. I will always be a mother.
Parenthood is a choice. We choose to try to conceive, to not abort, to give up for adoption, to raise and love and worry and weep. Some choose not to try, for whatever reasons. But it is a choice, and that is a freedom granted every person, large or small.
And when my children snuggle close and tell me they love me or reach for my hand to hold, their small fingers grasping mine in perfect trust, I know I chose rightly.