Right Where I Need To Be

Last night I was out to dinner with some friends and I ran into an old acquaintance from high school. She was in town with her sister for a girl's weekend, and we took a couple of minutes to catch up. She is married, about halfway through her 1st pregnancy, and her younger sister is newly engaged. After congratulating the both of them on their respective accomplishments, I began to reel off the list of pregnant friends that I have in my high school town where they live. There are currently five, and upon commencement of my list, the younger sister made an interesting comment to me.

"Well, I guess you're a bit behind the game."

To which I promptly replied (with a bit of humor, sarcasm, and arrogance--if that combination is possible)...

"No, I like to think that I'm a bit AHEAD of the game."

*insert smile and a nonchalant laugh*

To be honest, I wasn't really affected by this statement. I'm quite accustomed to constant questions about my social life, lack of boyfriend, and the like. But my friends who I was eating with were greatly annoyed, and there were a few eyerolls upon the subsequent telling of this story.

Those of you who know me understand that I am completely okay with this phase of my life. I'm finishing up school after a slight hiatus, I'm dreaming about moving to the city and embarking on a new career, and I'm expectant and excited about the things that lie in store for me... I know that this is NOT a good time for me to, a) look for a serious relationship, b)settle down, and/or c)Heaven forbid-have children.

I'm okay with my life, but sometimes I feel like the rest of the world is not--as though it is waiting for me to catch up in the race to marriage, kids, and a white-picket fence. Does our society view those that are single, divorced, unattached or otherwise as somehow incomplete, less than whole, or wanting? Because that's silly. Really silly. Maybe it's just a small-town midwestern frame of mind...but happiness and wholeness can be found apart from having a significant other, and I find it interesting that our culture has adopted the belief that it cannot.

Now don't get me wrong. I am NOT trying to stand atop a "single" soapbox--cuz that's not what this is. I love relationships, and I love my friends and the relationships that they are in. I love those that are single, dating, married, pregnant, parents, and everything else in between. I appreciate the different places in life that we all find ourselves in, and I am grateful for the multitude of perspectives that I gain from them. Someday I do look forward to settling down, getting married, and maybe even having some kids. But that one day is not now, it won't be tomorrow, and it may not be for a couple years. I am enjoying where my life is at, just as I hope the rest of my friends are enjoying where their lives are at. Different circumstances, situations and stories--but all good places.

Life hands us different courses, varying paths, and lots of forks in the road. Some lead to adventure, others to fame or fortune, and others to love. My only hope is that at the end of the day we would all find ourselves...right where we need to be.