Why Aren't You Married?

I'm on one of my visits to my sister's family (pre-Christmas, and timed to coincide with my newly nine-year-old niece's birthday) and she's hanging out in my room. "Why aren't you married?" she says. Ugh. I hate that question. It always feels like it has another question inside it that measures my value in some way.

So I told her the truth - I've had some really great boyfriends and two proposals, but nobody ever seemed like The One. And I always knew I had to have The One.

That didn't stop the queries. We had two more "sessions" over the last day and a half, and finally I asked, "J, why does this bother you so much?" She said, "I worry that you might be in a bad city sometime and someone might try to take your purse or hurt you, and if you had a husband he could protect you."

Oh. My. Gosh. This kid's heart is as big as Texas. I've got to stop thinking this question is saying anything but this: "I think you're so great, I love you so much, and I want you to be safe and happy." Yep, there's a whole lot of affection and care behind "Why aren't you married?"

Hey, you never know what's in store for the future...I might be in a bad city sometime and if I were married and someone tried to take my husband's wallet, I could be there to protect him.

© 2014 A Bit of Brie/Anitabrie