So Women’s Ministries/Presbyterian Women threw me a wedding shower just now. For those of you under the impression that we are man-hating bra-burners who don’t shave, quite the contrary—we actually do our wedding parties with quite a bit of class around here. We started off with toasts (using sparkling cider, of course) to David and me led by Mary Elva and Bridgett. No games, either—just a great salad potluck with some yummy cake. I ate so much frosting that it almost made me sick.

And I now have a recipe box from the office that says, “From the Kitchen of Kelsey and David,” on it, complete with a personalized embosser to stamp our recipe cards. Now if that isn’t just awesome, I don’t know what is. And note the egalitarian language….

My colleagues also gave me a hard time about my honeymoon. You see, David and I are jetting off to Switzerland for eight days after the wedding. We’ll take in Zurich, Lugano, Lausanne, and Geneva while we’re there. Now, I read in the last Presbyterians Today that a new Reformation museum has opened up in Geneva. I’m pretty excited about said museum—as a former history major and Presbyterian, I think it is a GREAT honeymoon excursion to walk where Calvin walked, explore the rich history and tradition of our Reformed faith, etc. (yeah, so what if David is Baptist). Anyway, my co-workers think that I’m a dork. But surely if YOU, gentle reader, were honeymooning in Geneva, as a good Presbyterian wouldn’t you want to visit the Reformation museum?

Thank you for your kind notes from yesterday—I really appreciate them. I may take up some of the offers from you all to fill in with the blog, and I’ve asked the Coordinating Committee if they’d be willing to take on some blogging, too. So you can look forward to all sorts of miscellany in my absence.

I don’t know if you’re aware of this yet, but you may have caught on that this is my last blog to you all as a single woman. The next time you hear from me (June 5), I will be a KARB (click here to read about KAR vs. KARB). So perhaps I’ll take a few brief moments to pay homage to singlehood before I depart it.

Being single, I’ve noticed, gets a lot of hard knocks. For the first 22 years or so of my life, I was almost perpetually single—so I still feel qualified to speak with some confidence on this subject. On family holidays, you always have to put up with people slyly asking whether you’re seeing someone. The only flowers you get on Valentine’s Day are from your grandpa. And every once in a while, you wonder if maybe all those friends and family and society are right, and maybe there is something “wrong” with you because you haven’t found someone.

Well, don’t believe that for a minute! That’s the point where you should say, in the words of none other than Jesus, “Satan, get behind me!” Because singlehood is awesome, too. Here are the top ten things I’ll miss about being single:

10—If you want to pick up and move to Louisville, Kentucky, why not?
9—Eating out five meals a week is a totally acceptable option.
8—You can visit any city in the world where you have friends, and the only accommodation you need consists of a spare couch.
7—You don’t have to check another person’s schedule before accepting a party invitation.
6—No décor compromising!
5—You can spend all weekend watching Pride and Prejudice in your PJs. And no one can say anything about your running commentary of romantic sighs and shrieks of outrage.
4—No one expects you to bring food to the church potluck, but you’re always the first in line to eat.
3—You have a valid and productive purpose in people-watching.
2—It is easy to find friends to go watch stupid romantic comedies with.
1—You have the room to grow as an individual.

Now, I am not saying that I wish I were single—I am quite happy being in a couple at this point in my life. But all those years in which I was single were critical in my spiritual growth, my intellectual development, and my emotional maturity. Just as I live a rich and full life now in a relationship, I had a wonderful and rich experience of development in singlehood.

So I say farewell to the single life by encouraging all of you who are in the single state to live it up! There are too many adventures to be had, friends to make, and growth to happen for you to dwell on what’s not there. And if you do ever decide to commit to someone, you’ll do it knowing that you wanted to and didn’t have to.

I’ll see you all on the other side!

“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the wild does: do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready!” --Song of Solomon 3:5

Kelsey

Bon Voyage