Dear Ann Landers,
y husband and I are in our late twenties. We've been married seven years, have a lovely home, excellent jobs, and are content. For reasons which we do not wish to discuss with anyone, we have no children. Our friends all have children, and they badger us mercilessly because we have none. They insist something must be drastically wrong with us-that we are selfish and shortsighted. The stock phrase is "You don't know what you're missing." They also 69 say we will no doubt end up in the divorce court because a marriage without children is sure to fail. Why don't people leave us alone? Please, Ann, print this letter and inform the meddlers that all couples without children are not misera-ble.-Irate

Dear Irate,
Childless couples owe neither apology nor ex-planation to outsiders. When the subject comes up, say, "We've beat the topic into the ground, now let's talk about something else." While there is a great deal to be said for having a family, there is something to be said for not having a family-if you don't want one. The following letter presents an interesting point of view.