It's fall...fall is good, filled with all the things I enjoy most. Football. Cooler weather. Fireplaces. Football. Soup Sundays. Standard Time. Football. Sweaters. Boots. Football. Parties. Holidays...you get the idea. But here's the concept that continues to elude a handful of people...single people are just as entitled to the joys of the season--any season--as standard nuclear families. Or nontraditional nuclear families. Or people in serious relationships. Or anyone. Really.
I know...it seems like a no-brianer, one that was established by the likes of Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw some 20 years ago, among others. But strange as it may seem, there are still some who look at my family of three--me and my girls--and see something that's incomplete. I can assure you, it's not. There are people who look at me and somehow see me as less of a person because I'm single. (Actually, I'm not single, exactly, but we'll get to that.) I'm not. There are a few people reading this right now who are inwardly (or outwardly, whatever) rolling their eyes, thinking that I'm only saying that because I don't have anyone, and if I did, I would change my tune. To them, I would say this: Just because my family and my relationship doesn't look like yours doesn't mean I'm sitting around wishing I had what you had. In fact, most of the time, the opposite is true, at least for the time being.
Just in case there's any confusion, let me tell you about my family. Of course, there's me. My girls. They're amazing, and they are, without question, my biggest accomplishment. Not my only one...they're actually one of many. But they are the biggest, hands-down. And while we get top billing in this little sitcom, the supporting cast is also stellar...I just don't live with them. My parents. My brother. Beth. Chelsea. Ashley. April. Adrienne. Amanda. Derek and Chad. Deanna an Ian. Lisa. Krystal. Sarah and Rob and Syd. Adam. And The Boy. There are others...the list is long and each person brings something important. Does my family look like yours? Nope. Is it perfect? No. And I wouldn't trade them for anything, either. Not even for a 2-carat diamond and a 4-bedroom, 3 bath house on an acre in town. Not that there's anything wrong with that. At ALL...but my family counts and is every bit as legit.
Single is relative. I don't consider myself single. I'm pretty sure L doesn't see it that way. I'm just not clamoring for a proposal or wanting to shack up anytime soon...I don't know when or if I will reach that point...with anyone. It isn't that I don't adore him. I'm just happy having my own house and my own things and my free time to spend however I want to spend it. One day, when it's right, I'm sure I'll be willing to give it up...but that's not now.
For now, I like things the way they are, and so do the girls. No one should feel sorry for me or assume I'm incomplete or unhappy being--sort of--on my own. And no one should overlook my holiday plans and assume they're unimportant, or that it's less of a Thanksgiving with only the three of us. That little Thanksgiving lunch matters to us, just as much as any family affair with a dozen people. This is our family, and it's pretty perfect the way it is. :)
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