5.02.2005

Welcome to the Single Nation

Wow. In just two short months, I will be able to file my federal tax return as SINGLE for the first time since 1987. I'm a 30-something woman who hasn't been "out there" in a really long time. And, the prospect of being single once again scares me almost as much as staying married to my bi-polar, cheating husband.

Thanks to the year-long waiting period for divorce in my home state and numerous lunches with single friends, I have been able to get a sneak peak into the life of single women. Let me just say, it ain't pretty. Of course you, my single sisters, already know this to be true. You are the expert witnesses, the Dear Abbys, the battle-scarred soldiers, the stand-up comics to this sometimes strange, sometimes wonderful, but always evolving single life. You are the citizens of the single nation.

This past year I have been more like the alien-resident of the single nation. My green card may have been issued the day I separated, but I still feel like a stranger in a strange land. And I doubt, even with an official divorce decree, that I will feel any more secure in this new single life any time soon. I don't understand this way of life. I don't know the basic rules of engagement. And, most importantly, I don't understand men.

I've been told that before someone becomes a citizen of the United States, he or she must past a test demonstrating basic understanding of U.S. history and government. I guess it is important that people know the basic rules and principles of a country before signing on to that country. I feel as though I've been cramming for a citizen's exam this entire year. I've watched and re-watched Sex and the City for clues into the rules of single life. I replaced my National Geographic subscription with Cosmo. I’ve listened to countless dating disaster stories of my friends. I've watched as otherwise perfectly competent and savvy friends repeat relationship mistakes and I know full well I couldn't do any better. I even see a therapist, though I prefer to think of our bi-weekly visits as tutoring sessions.

Yet despite my best efforts, I feel totally unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with the life that awaits me. I do, however, take great comfort in knowing that I am not alone. You, single sisters, who have trudged a path before me, our out there ready to share and impart your knowledge and experiences. It is your wealth of experience that serves as the inspiration for this website.

This website is for us, alien residents, citizens and visitors alike, of the single nation. Join our community and feel free to share your stories and observations of sex, love, laughter and loss. Share our site with other single sisters. Whether by choice or by happenstance you find yourself a citizen the single nation, do not despair. We may be single, but we are not alone.

2 comments:

SassyAssy said...

Amen, siser!

Cheetarah1980 said...

I've never been anything but single, and I still feel like a stranger in a foreign land. I don't know how to have the cool single life so many others have.