Hi, My name is Carrie, and I'm a single person.

Here's an idea, a Singles Anonymous Group! Wait. Maybe that's the Singles Ward ;)

All right here's the scoop: people bug me sometimes. My cousin, who is 18 and really should know better, made "the comment" yesterday. I was talking about my calling as a Sunbeam Teacher in church (Three year olds have more energy than the Energizer Bunny. I think they actually harness the energy from them for the batteries... but back to my post) and I must have said something about kids in relation to me, because the next thing he says is, "Oh you'll have kids. If not in this life, you'll have them in the next!" This might seem an OK thing to say, but first of all, that was not even my issue. It's like people hear the word child from a single person's lips and it's assumed that they're going to whine about not having any. At that moment, I was thinking, how in the world do mom's do it? and, I don't know if I'll ever be ready for that. Then he goes off on how someday I'll have my own?????

I think people say this type of advice just to put their own mind at ease, and feel like they made the single person feel better. It's never worked for me, and I doubt it works for others. The problem is that it's not always the issue the person is even talking about, and the advice giver doesn't bother listening. I'm pretty sure every single Mormon knows the doctrine of all things being made up to them. If you were single for awhile, and you heard this comment over and over, and over and over, it would get old for you too.

When the above comment, or the comment about finding a guy in the next life is made, I really just want to say, "What do you suggest for the next 80 years of my life?" The next life is most likely years and years away. Maybe that retort wouldn't be the best idea, because knowing the comments I've had, they'd probably say soemthing like, "look for that guy to come along!" Honestly, sometimes I think waiting for some perfect person in heaven is the best option. That way you won't have to deal with annoying habits for 80+ years. And though it is hard once in awhile- like when your younger sisters get married, then have babies, then have more kids... and you're all alone, just you and your PJ's (I heard the PJ comment in a talk once) - it's not like my life is worthless because "that guy hasn't come along." I have worth because of who I am, not who I'm with. I wish people would understand that.