Table for One, Please

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the over-30 single women who are drying up and will die alone and childless (and grandchildless). I've tried to dismiss the articles (which I will link to in this post even though I don't believe they deserve the page views) but the most recent study has prompted me to post and discuss. It claimed women who are in healthy marriages have healthier hearts than single women. Let's take a step back and really look at this.

The first of the recent "save your ovaries" articles was published in The Boston Globe's BostonWorks section on March 2. Penelope Trunk's Climb column declared that those women who were raised by Baby Boomers (today's over 30 crowd) and were passionately told to follow their dreams and focus on themselves, will inevitably wind up childless because they took the advice of their parents. She writes:

"No generation of women has had more trouble with fertility than this generation, who received the terrible baby boomer advice, 'Wait. You have time. Focus on your career first.'"

Terrible baby boomer advice? I'd like to take a moment and thank my Mom and Dad - the "Baby Boomers" - who told me to focus on my career. Thanks to their terrible advice, I am living quite an enjoyable life. I've got money in the bank, a respectable career and a soft spot for a good, dry martini. Sure, they secretly wish grandchildren would arrive, but they also appreciate that I'm happy. This is a good time to point out that I'm not opposed to meeting a nice guy with good values who might want to settle down someday, but that day is not right now. Does that make me a washed-up hag, Penelope? Think again.

When I woke up Thursday morning to Diane Sawyer on Good Morning, America, I anticipated a typical Thursday. Get my coffee, stroll into work, research some articles and schedule some interviews. Meet friends for dinner. Until Diane asked aloud on national television, "Do married women have healthier hearts than single women?" Oh, Diane!

In a recent study conducted by Brigham Young University, doctors determined that a good marriage equals good blood pressure and a bad marriage is "worse than being single." Let's say that again... "worse than being single." As if being single is the very last thing in the world you would ever want to be?!

One of my married co-workers had this to say: "Studies have shown red wine helps promote a healthy heart. Being single means you don't have to share the bottle of red wine."

Amen, sister! If being single means my heart is open to explore the endless possibilities that life brings my way, sign me up. That seems like a pretty healthy way of living.

Thoughts?