At least I'm in good company

Jennifer Aniston and Spinsterhood 2.0

Used to be that the most famous old maid in the world was a gawky cartoon character who fell hard for a man whose affections were largely devoted to canned spinach. Olive Oyl was a woman of open heart and flapper feet, an awkward eyelashbatting coquette with skinny legs and a tight bun, but try as she might, she never could land her pipe-puffing sailor man, Popeye.
Used to be that old maids were the sad-sack left-behinds, the dried-up shells who drifted on the edges of society while neighbours on street corners whispered about their sad fate, about their lonely days as pale accounting clerks and midi-skirted kindergarten teachers, about their lonely nights behind drawn curtains in quiet apartments, comforted by cats and, sometimes, a favourite niece.

Believe me, Olive Oyl, I ain't, not by a long shot.  And that line about being 'comforted by cat and, sometimes, a favorite niece?'  No way.  I'm gonna go down as the crazy old dog lady (and my favorite niece is my only niece.  And she lives in Arizona).

Because in a world where love and marriage are the holy grail of societal harmony and personal fulfilment, there is surely nothing more pitiful than a woman who can't find a man.

But that was before Jennifer Aniston became the poster girl for Spinsterhood 2.0.

And I'm very glad she did.  I don't feel that I should be pitied for being single.  What the hell is wrong with it?  The coffee cup that I leave on the counter in the morning is mine and I know that it hasn't magically multiplied at some point in the day.  The 6 or 8 beer in the fridge when I leave are still going to be there when I get home.  Yes, it's a struggle some times and I have to call on friends more often than I like (I've been accused of being independent to a fault), or paying someone to do things that may be chores that would, in a relationship, be shared, but I'm ok with that too.
When I was in my early 20's, I knew that I didn't want to get married unless I had a very strong relationship, (which we all know doesn't happen too often, we're not quite mature enough yet) and that I didn't want to have kids unless I had a very strong marriage.
When I was in my 30's, I was too busy getting through my electrical apprenticeship to be bothered.  Can you see a pregnant electrician on a construction site, up on a ladder?  Oh ya, I dated and fooled around, but that was about it.
And then...  And then I was getting later on in my 30's.  I had finished my apprenticeship and was now a journeyman electrician and all of a sudden it reached up and, slapped me in the face.  Here I was, pushing 40, and still single.  Sure, I had lived with some men, but it had never turned into 'the thing'.  And so, when my friend of 20 years asked me to be his roommate I said sure.  The next thing you know, we're getting married and not too long after that, divorced.  Never marry your friends (or do 'the nasty' with them), it rarely works.  You were friends that long for a reason, you knew it was best that way.

 ...a shift that has seen single adults -women mostly -outnumbering married ones in Canadian households for the first time.
...and it's one that is shared with our sisters to the south, where recent U.S. Census figures revealed that 51 per cent of adult women in that country were unmarried.
...Or put another way, single women now outnumber married women.
...If Aniston, who has beauty, wealth and fame but still no love, is riding the crest of this demographic wave, the millions of women who are surfing anonymously in the shallows are oddly comforted in knowing that she is helping redefine the once-pitied profile of the unmarried woman.


I am on par with Jennifer Aniston?  Far from it.  She's younger and better looking and has a whole lot more money than I do, but you know what?  I'm content with where I'm at.  I have 'enough'.  I'll be happy with what I have.
And if 'the thing' comes along, I'll be happy with that too, but don't be looking for me on eHatrmony any time soon.
Read the rest here.