Look, Ma, I'm Growin' Up!

Last week I realized something: I'm glad I'm not married yet.

I became a working girl right out of college. Every day I get up much earlier than my desired waking time and go to work. Sometimes I'm busy, and sometimes I'm not. But either way, I have to be at work for 8 hours, then sit in traffic, longing to be home -- where I can change into jeans and a t-shirt, put my hair up in a ponytail, and do whatever I please.

It's almost been a year since I graduated, and this work routine is still difficult for me to get used to. Driving kind of sucks the energy out of my brain most of the time, and being on a schedule is . . . against my religion. :) The hardest part about my life is that it's pretty lonely. Yes, I have friends; yes, I hang out with them; and yes, I have fun. But I have a longing to share my life with someone, just like anybody else. I think I'm mentally and spiritually prepared for marriage. I'm even getting temporally prepared for it.

But I'm really glad it hasn't happened yet. I feel a great sense of connection and understanding to other lonely people. I know that I'll appreciate my husband more than I would have if I had gotten married say, three years ago. And honestly, I think that working 9 to 5 is giving me a good understanding of what it's like to be a husband, coming home from work after a long day. I don't want to cook. I don't want to clean. (Well . . . I usually do always like to clean.) I don't really want to do much of anything. I just want to be home and "unwind." I think that's probably the biggest reason I'm glad I'm not married yet. I'm getting the chance to live in a man's shoes, sort of -- and it's a chance that probably not every young wife and mother has.

I'm very grateful for my life, and I'm thankful to Heavenly Father for knowing what I need.

BUT! Now that I know what I'm supposed to know . . . I expect a marriage within a year! :)