Key points

Summertime often involves many family gatherings, where talk turns to family and the kids.

Not everyone has kids, and some people who do aren't that interested in talking about them.

Non-parents can feel left out; talking about topics other than kids can be engaging for everyone.

This summer has been a season jam-packed with a rapid succession of family reunions, road trips to visit far-flung loved ones, and hosting what a friend impishly refers to as “house pests.” As a non-parent introvert , I’m saturated.

The extended immersion in family gatherings involves everyone else’s children. Doesn’t matter if the kids are absent or in attendance. They’re still omnipresent, mentioned frequently as a main topic of conversation.

I sit largely on the sidelines as witness to the im

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