I think friendships can survive the kids/no kids along as you have enough in common. A friendship can't make it if one person has totally focused her energies on being a mom to the loss of everything else. I am a mom (though my kids are older now) and I always tried to have more interests than just my kids for my own sanity.
My friends with kids totally "understand the choice not to have kids", however there is still an element of divide: if you don't have kids, you can't possibly understand them anymore.
No matter how much time spent, or loving the relationship, it seems there is more than an element of "you childless women can not understand those of us with kids", an exclusionary factor, if you will.
Just an observation....
Oh I agree.
My friends with kids love me for me too. I have several friendships that have more than survived my choice not to have kids, but a dozen years or more.
But I still think that they believe I simply can not relate to their lives as Mommies. That the opinion of any childless woman relating to child issues is invalidated.
No bearing on understanding the time kids require, but an underlying assumption that those without kids can not truly understand those with kids.
Which may be true LOL
But I wonder if any of the many mothers that have commented about maintaining childess friendships can relate to at some deep level???