Single

It is funny how blogging works. Sometimes I feel as if I am called to write a post based on how many emails I receive on a topic and today's post falls into that category. Recently, I have gotten a handful of emails that have asked me how I stay so positive and happy even though I am single at 27.

 I am a generally positive person. I am a glass half full kind of girl. While there are of course times that I might feel somewhat alone, overall I am not sad or down about being single. I have a great life and am very blessed. I have a good job and am involved in numerous organizations in my city. I really am living it up I think. My friends are supportive and we have so much fun together. With that being said, I also never view myself as a third wheel when it comes to my married friends. I know I would not invite people to do things if I did not want to spend time with them and I do not think my friends would constantly ask me out to dinner with them if they saw me as a nuisance, or rather, a third wheel. I think if I personally was always worried about being a third wheel I would not be as comfortable in certain situations, but I do not have that mindset. Your friends are going to love you and will enjoy being around you regardless of your relationship status. If they are not then it might be time to reevaluate those relationships. The same goes for blogs I think. If you read a blog that makes you feel inadequate because you are not at that point in your life it is likely time to stop reading. I think when you are single and waiting and read "mommy" blogs it can sometimes be hard. Women can seem as if they are complaining about the 10th temper tantrum their child threw and being a stay at home mom and all you want is that life. It can be hard to relate. However, you have to remember that we are just at a different time in our lives. I do not think these women are being insensitive and rubbing what they have in your face, they are just sharing THEIR life with us which is what we are all entitled to do. However, if it makes you feel bad or like you are not living up to the world's standards then it might be time to take a break.

Society is good at dictating how we should live our lives. Obviously, we need to follow certain rules (also know as laws), but being married by 25 and popping out two kids by 30 is not one of them. Of course, I have NO problem with people that DO do these things. That is how their life plan panned out (and yes, sometimes I am jealous of them), but that it not how everyone's life plan is going to be. Just because someone does not get married until they are 32 and has a baby at 35 does not mean they got married "later in life" or are an "old mother." They are no better or worse off than the girl that got married at 23 and had a baby at 25. Just because we might not meet someone until we are 32 does not mean our relationship as a whole will be any less meaningful nor does it mean we cannot still have our perfectly beautiful weddings. While some people are lucky enough to find their soul mate at 21 some of us are called to wait. There is nothing wrong with waiting and if anything I know it has personally made me more of appreciative of what is to come.

I have chosen to use my time in waiting as ME time. I have simply been given more time to be selfish. You can plan a spontaneous trip to Austin with your girlfriends and not have to worry about what your boyfriend/fiance/husband had on the books for the weekend. You can say yes to dinner ten minutes before you leave work because you do not have plans. You can spend all day browsing stores and watching movies at NorthPark and not have a worry in the world about what you have to cook for dinner or how you are going to get a babysitter. I am not saying you cannot do these things when you are married, but I do think they come fewer and farther between since you have someone else you are sharing your life with. I also am not bashing anyone that is married or has children. Believe me, I cannot wait for those days, but I am embracing the time I have now and using it to my advantage as I know I am not ready for the latter just yet.

If  any of you single girls wanted to be married right now I have no doubt in my mind that you could find someone, but it is important to wait for the one. I want to find my PERFECT match. We might find that match this month or maybe in eight years, but I know when we do it will be worth the wait. Do not change your standards (mine are rather high, but I know they are that way for a reason) just because society tells you it is time to tie the knot. Also, do not set a timeline for yourself as they will often lead to being disappointed. It might sound grand to meet the one within the next few months, but that might not be in your cards. Just like those of you that found your perfect match, us singles girls will too. In the mean time, we can embrace this time in our lives and be grateful for this extra time. Live it up and enjoy it while you can! One day when I have three children running around throwing things at me and screaming, I know I will look back and in a sense, I will miss it.