"And we all lived happily ever after..."

“I have an immense appetite for solitude, like an infant for sleep, and if I don't get enough for this year, I shall cry all the next. ” ― Henry David Thoreau

     When one reminisces about their youth they refer to their "salad days" or if you prefer "Ramen Noodle" days for the Millenniasl. During our early twenties we seem to fall in and out of love as quickly as you can Google, "divorce attorney". Still there are those who find their "soul mates", marry and live blissfully forever after as little birdies sing and forest animals dance in celebration. Truthfully, there really is a beauty and innocence in marrying your first true love. It is what romance novelists live for and what most young couples have been taught to emulate. Who doesn't love the movie, " Enchanted"? Who doesn't cry after watching the "Notebook"? You have a soul, right? Couples who have evolved while sharing an enduring, loving union should be honored. It is very rare and special. Similarly, we need to honor and respect those who choose not to marry. If arranged marriages were common in the United States imagine how many desperately relieved fathers and families there would be? My father's spirit may be hovering above my computer exasperated. Here is a brief synopsis spanning twenty years of phone calls with my father. "Hey, Pops!, I'd chirp. And Louis would reply, "Lisa! Have you found a man yet? "Lisa, when are you getting married?". My "Ramen Noodle" days were pretty damn lively and I regret nothing. Love and sex and romance are wonderful! On occasion, I do feel as out of place with couples as Lady Gaga in a Nicholas Sparks novel. Actually, after years of concern regarding who would take care of his "little girl" my father understood. In one of our last conversations he confided, " Just do what makes YOU happy." Being single is not a disease that needs to be cured. Not everyone who chooses to be alone is ever lonely.