What is it about being in a small town that makes everyone think that it’s okay to ask questions that no one else would ever think to answer?
In about three weeks, I will have been back home for four years. Four long years. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being in South Georgia, I just forgot what it was like to live down here… In the last four years though, I have gotten a healthy dose of it. People feel as though it is perfectly acceptable to ask ANYTHING they way to… And to me, a lot of what they ask is off limits. From the title of the blog, you can guess what the main question is, and to be honest, I’m sick of it.
Now, to be fair, the boyfriend and I have been together for almost four years… Other than nearly a year that we spent trying to figure out whether or not we really wanted to be together… We’ve been back together for about 14 months though, and things have been great. Unfortunately, this is around the time that everyone and their momma starts butting in with their opinions.
Now, they don’t always come right out and say what’s on their minds… They like to torture me all along the way to the questions that feel like a stab directly to the gut.
“Alicia, how long have you and old Steve been together now?… Wow. So y’all aren’t taking it to the next level?” “Alicia, you know you aren’t getting any younger… Don’t you think it’s about time that you start thinking about settling down?” “Alicia, don’t you think those boys need a man in their lives?” “Alicia, you know he’ll never marry you if you keep spending the weekends with him.” “Alicia, don’t you think it’s time you moved on with your life… I heard your ex remarried.”Those are just a FEW examples… And each one of them twists like a dagger in my gut.
Yes, sometimes I fear that we are never going anywhere beyond where we are right now. Who gives anyone the right to try to play on that fear?
Yes. I know I’m getting older. But you know what? I’m turning 27. TWENTY SEVEN. Believe it or not, people are living well beyond that these days… And you know what? My Moma and Daddy were quite a bit older than that when they got married.
Yes, they do need a man in their lives… And they have plenty. They have my wonderful boyfriend, my stepdad, my brother, and they have their own DAD!
Really? You want to attack the fact that after we haven’t seen each other all week we spend the weekends together? I think we’ve come out of the 1950s… It’s 2014. While I never envisioned living my life like this, I’m quite happy with it currently.
Hmmm… My ex got remarried? I guess I didn’t get the memo that I was supposed to go and do the exact same thing immediately afterward. I’ll get right on that and start competing with him.
Really, I can’t be the only one that goes through this, can I? I’ll tell you the truth… Yes, I want to get married. I couldn’t imagine ever waking up beside anyone else. I can’t imagine living my life without him in it. I also am not going to try to force him to do anything before he is absolutely ready. Why? Because once upon a time, I got married before I was ready… And we all know how that turned out.
So, to everyone out there that wants to ask questions like that, instead of trying to defend myself and my boyfriend from here on out, my simple answer is this: Go to hell… Or mind your own damn business. Last I checked, this is my happily ever after to live, and I’ll live it how I please.
