In the end, Parton said, “it wasn’t meant to be. Now that we’re older? We’re glad.” She knows she would have only felt guilty for leaving her kids every time she’d go on tours. “Everything would have changed. I probably wouldn’t have been a star,” Parton realized.
Despite all of this, Parton believes her fate led her to become a mother to many children instead. The country legend created the Imagination Library in 1995, which provides free books to young children.
“And I didn’t have children because I believed that God didn’t mean for me to have kids so everybody’s kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library because if I hadn’t had the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done,” Parton said. “I wouldn’t be in a position to do all of the things I’m doing now.”
In 2017, the singer also released her first children’s album called I Believe in You, featuring songs specially made for children, such as “Brave Little Soldier,” “Makin’ Fun Ain’t Funny,” and “Coat of Many Colors.”