21 Myths About Being Single, From Older Adults

19.

“I didn’t make a conscious decision not to have a husband and kids — it just worked out that way. My parents got married when they were 22, so I thought that was a good age for me, too; however, while my fiancé was absolutely the right man, it was absolutely the wrong time for me to get married. Fast forward 30-ish years, and I’ve never married and never had kids, which is strange because ever since I was in first grade, I dreamed of having a house, a husband, and a lot of kids. I think there’s a part of me that thought it was a checklist of required things to do in life: graduate from college, get married, have kids. No one really said what to do when all the boxes were checked, and no one ever presented the list with the option of only checking off one box (a college degree).”

“The thing I’m finding most perplexing about it all is that I don’t seem to fit in anywhere; people don’t know what to do with me. I’m not married or divorced, and I’ve never had kids so I lack those types of experiences with most other people I meet who are my age. … For the most part, I am content with my life. Sometimes, I look back and play what-if or get sad because I’m not where my much younger self thought I would be by now, but, on the whole, I can’t complain. I haven’t ruled out getting married or having kids, but I also don’t anything to actively seek it out.”

—53, South Carolina