I’ve spent 29 years of my life as a single gal, and I don’t think it’s the strangest thing in the world.
However, others find it quite peculiar. And wrong.
I was at an event recently and began chatting with a woman a bit older than I am, and we were having a great conversation. Somehow the topic of boyfriends or dating came up, and she found out I’ve never even been on a date. I’m not quite sure how to describe the look on her face. You know the scene in The Sandlot when Ham Porter has to teach Smalls how to make a s’more? Remember the look of sheer disgust combined with confusion and disbelief that Porter had? It might have resembled something like that.
At first she began telling me how horrible the dating world is now and that I had picked a really bad time to get started. (For the record, I hadn’t mentioned “getting started” with anything.) But just a few moments after that, she was throwing out ideas of ways for me to meet people. She mentioned organizations and events I’ve never even heard of and that, quite honestly, didn’t sound too appealing to me.
I guess I never knew just how much of a crime I was committing by being fine with being single.
I’ve had people tell me before that I need to date to get experience and find out what I want or don’t want. Well, that’s actually what I don’t want. I don’t want to date around just to “get experience.” I want things to be special, and I’m not sorry about that. At all. I’m not against dating, and hopefully someday I’ll get that first date. But not just with any guy–with the right guy.
I already have a first kiss that forever haunts my lips, and I really don’t want another heartache like that, especially after waiting this many years.
Everyone is different, and there is no perfect timetable we all have to follow in the way we live our lives. I know I’m behind a lot of people my age, but I don’t care. Things will happen for me when they are supposed to and in the ways they are supposed to occur. I’m not going to rush them, and I certainly am not going to force them. There may come a time when I have a permanent plus one to put on wedding RSVPs, and there may not. But it’s not something about which other people need to concern themselves–joy and love can be found in this world without actually being in love.
For now, I’ll just live out my fairy tale a little differently than most of the Disney girls did prior to meeting their princes–with contentment.
Best wishes.