No House, No Ring, No Baby — No Problem

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I used to naively sit down and create a plan for my life that looked somewhat like finding the love of my life at 20, finding a house that was just right, and starting a family within a few years.

Now, at 21, the love of my life is out there wandering somewhere far away from me, I am living at my parents, and you know the whole family thing isn’t really happening for me with no ring or man in sight.

As I log onto every social media site and talk to friends, I have came to the conclusion that the house, the ring, and the baby is happening for everyone except me. The trifecta seems to be making it’s way into everyone’s life and steering itself in the opposite direction of mine.

Every time I scroll through different feeds of sparkly diamonds or talk to a friend who just put a down payment on a house, I sulk for a good ten minutes until I remember that there is no timeline of events paired with expiration marks dictating when or even if these life experiences need to happen.

I was always under the impression that my life would not be fulfilled unless I had this trifecta at the same time as everyone else.

I have seen people choose to never settle down, I have seen people jump from apartment to apartment never choosing to stay put in a house, I have seen couples stay together years on end without ever putting a ring on it.

In all of these encounters, one thing always remained consistent…these people were happy. There were no deadlines, there was no rush to find the one, buy the house, or start a family. I’ve had to have a few talks with my 21-year-old, lots of life left to live self and remind her that there is no time stamp in any of these life experiences.

So offer up your packing skills to your friend who just bought a house, celebrate the couple who just got engaged, pick out baby clothes and support the growing family. Whether you see all of these things for yourself or will choose to steer away from some, realize the time will come and it will be specifically time stamped for you.