I don't have children either. It wasn't a plan, that's just the way it went.
Because of that I have lived a different lifestyle that included things I may not have been able to experience if I had children. I'm not saying it has been an equal or good trade-off, but then, like I said, it wasn't a plan not to have any.
In my age, it would be kind of nice if there were grown children who might help me out on occasion with small tasks that I no longer allow myself or am no longer able to do. It would be fun to have them for me to dote on and do things for too.
I am playing the life's hand that has been dealt me the best that I can.
It's really important, in my opinion, to *play the hand we've been dealt; to do otherwise seems wasteful of the gift that is life. You and I are doing that I guess, and I believe we're doing a good job. Sure, there's aspect we have missed out on, however that doesn't mean our lives have been incomplete.
I understand what you're saying about having adult offspring around, I've thought the same, but we get by right?
There are not many (good) choices to choose from when deciding how to handle what life dishes out sometimes, but it is much easier to accept it and figure out how to make it as good as possible with what you get. Change what you can and work the rest of it in. Fighting it can only make you miserable. That is my theory.
A good theory, and I agree.