Living the life I never thought I’d be living - TUCKER

Ten years ago if you had asked me where I would be today, I never, ever would have said, “single. VERY single. Working as a nurse in Seattle. And again, VERY single.” The other night while waiting for a movie to start, a preview for another movie came on where the main character said, “I’m living the life I never thought I’d be living.” This phrase resonated with me throughout the movie and the following 48 hours. I’m not quite sure why. I just can’t stop thinking about it and what it means to me. I think this is a pretty accurate statement for me at this point in 2009. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not unhappy with how my life turned out. I love my life, I love being able to go out for a spontaneous drink with Abby on a Sunday night. I love being a nurse. I love that I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Europe, to spend a crazy New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas, to live in far off places (the Midwest), to live the life of a single 27 year old.
If you had asked me ten years ago where I would be today, I would have probably said, “married by 21, baby by 24, followed by one every two years until I had four children”. WOW. As I read that statement now, it makes me laugh. My life could not be more different from that. The life I thought I wanted and what actually happened are so different from each other that I can’t even compare the two. Do I wish I got married at 21? I don’t know. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like.
While I see, one by one, my friends get married and have babies, I stand on the sidelines. But I really, truly believe that one day my time will come and all that I’ve experienced in the last ten years has helped to shape me into the best person I can be (beliefs pounded into me by my very supportive mother).
There’s that corny country song that says, “sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers”. And I have to admit, I think it’s pretty true. When I think about all the guys I thought it would work out with, all the guys I prayed it would work out with… and now I see what utter jerks (or DBs) those guys ended up being, I really do thank God for not answering those prayers.
While I really never thought I’d be living this life, I’m really happy I’m living this life. So here’s to the single life, because I think it’s pretty fantastic.