Marriage and Babies Everywhere!

I'm at that point in my life, as a 22 year old woman, where everyone is getting married.

I came to terms with that a little while ago, deciding it was okay to look at venues and decorations, plan the guests and the parties with my (just) boyfriend of (just over) a year.  We're healthy, we're stable, it's headed there anyway and all the stress of pre-planning and budgeting will be done!  It was a perfect plan.

Of course, it was rocky in the beginning of this phase.  I sat down and made a list of everyone that was important that was getting hitched or had recently.  I left out my older friends and people that had been married that were my age for a while.  The list was quite extensive.

But I had learned to cope with that and had moved on.

Then, two days ago, my best friend (who was on my married list, having gotten hitched at the end of June to her fiancee of three years) told me the big news.  She wouldn't be able to drink when she visits in a week and a half.  Of course, she is pregnant, 6 weeks along, the little Winifred or Tobias only the size of a semi-colon.

And I was happy for her.  She's been toying with this idea forever and many times, as we were roommates last year, we would dream of having little ones.  She's my best friend and I'm very excited.

But then the biological clock started ticking.  Well, not really ticking but kicking my uterus.  Obviously, something primal wants me to have children.  My boyfriend was lucky we weren't in the same room.  Otherwise I would have been saying the same three ideas over and over to try to make myself feel better.  His advice was to stay in the here and now, don't focus on anything in the future.

And I was trying to!  As I said, I'm happy where we are right now and wouldn't change it.

So I finally calmed down.  I confirmed with my friend that I would live vicarously through her and everything would be fine.

Until, twenty minutes later, a co-worker announced his wife was pregnant.

At this point, I wanted to write in to FML.

But, this morning I resolved to be where I should be right now.  I'm back to planning my wedding without an official ring on my finger (I picked out the one I wanted and my boyfriend knows this) and was filled with nothing but love and affection for my dearest this morning as I, with a sore throat, belted the Wedding Singer musical on the way to work.

So what is the moral here?  Love what you have and love others for their victories.  I'm back to loving my 2 bedroom apartment, my boyfriend, my cats, my near and far friends, and only thinking good thoughts about the short term future...

Without an engagement ring or a swelling belly.