I constantly read online rhetoric about ‘working families’. All too often, this means two adults with children. It is the mainstream, the norm, the personification of the popular-yet-mythical ‘nuclear family’. Of course, not all forms of family fall under this definition. Traditional assumptions view families as adults-plus-children, which excludes childless people and treats them as […]
Surviving Marriagedom
Identity Crisis
Have you seen that movie where the guy says to the girl, ‘You complete me?’ Ugh. Notice I did not mention which movie. I don’t have to. I have heard this sentiment expressed many times, in conversations, in songs, in the interrogations of single people as though their lives depended on getting married. This concept […]
Valuable Connections
When I was single, I attended a small community church and they welcomed me as one of their own. It felt like I had been part of the family for years, maybe even decades. They were like a spiritual family to me. So readily did they embrace me that one particular family included me in […]
Is Singledom Temporary?
‘When are you going to get married?’ Society, especially Christians, seem to view singledom as a temporary state. Singles are constantly inundated with questions about their love lives and relationship plans. I remember, when I was single, random strangers would ask invasive questions about blokes on my horizon. Like it was any of their business. […]
Surviving Valentine’s Day
Ugh. Not another Valentine’s Day. The Day when all romance is celebrating in a seemingly never-ending stream of chocolates, red roses and plush teddies holding cute little love hearts. Makes me wanna barf. (And I am its target demographic. Go figure.) And it is not just the rampant commercialism. Sure, I hate the overflow of […]
Pick Up The Slack
Single and childless people – anyone, really, who does not have children – are often asked to do more, simply by virtue of their circumstances. Parents get flexible work options. They can amend their hours, leave early, and switch their commitments around. They have to be there for their kids. While this is understandable and […]
Finding my Fit
When I was in my twenties, I did not fit because I was single. Everyone around me was married by the age of 21. It was like a team sport in my church. “No problem,” I thought, “It will just take me a little longer to find the right person. There’s no urgency anyway.” […]
Surviving Sequeldom
Last weeks’ visit to Koorong afforded some interesting conversations with readers. One question that kept recurring was, “What are you going to write about next?” People seemed keen to know about the sequel for Surviving Singledom. I have had a number of requests for a book about marriage: Surviving Marriagedom or something similar. Let me […]
Surviving Questions
This week I posted on facebook about the interrogation of singles on their relationship status. As part of the post, I reflected on how ridiculous it might be if we scrutinized marrieds in a similar fashion. To my pleasant surprise I received the most comments ever in response to this particular post. One of the […]