ap·pre·ci·ate

I'm not a great writer. I'm not a profound thinker or a deep conversationalist. I mean, hell, Jersey Shore and Teen Mom 2 are two of my favorite shows. (CABS AH HEEYA!) Don't judge me.

Single at 27 in the south is hard. If you're not married by the time you're 21, then there has GOT to be something wrong with you...

Gosh I love Snooki

There have been many Friday and Saturday nights I sat at home with my friends named Self Pity and Boredom. Let me tell you, they aren't much fun. When you are the last woman standing (as I've stated before) out of all my really close friends, it's hard not to feel sorry for yourself and ask "why not me?" and "what's wrong with me?" and "Do I smell bad?"

But then I saw this...

This time of my life is like no other time I will have. I have more freedom and independence than I will EVER have again. And I haven't taken advantage of that to the fullest potential.

Do I want to get married? Yes. Do I want to have kids? Yes. But why should that desire impede my ability to live in THIS moment?

So I started a list (anyone that knows me knows how much I LOVE lists) of things I can do now as a single 27 year old... prepare to get jealous married friends with kids...

• In the morning, I am responsible just just myself. No kids, no husband. Just me. That means, I can do my hair EVERYDAY. More than half the time I sport a big ol' messy bun on my head, but that's by choice. Mom's talk about how they never have time to wash their hair. Well sucks for you. I can.
• FULL CONTROL OF THE REMOTE. If I want to watch Lifetime Movie Network or The Bachelorette, I can. And there is no one there to complain about it. The DVR is full of MY shows.
• Sleep. That's right, no waking up in the middle of the night for some crying kid. No sharing the bed with a covers hog. I can sleep in the middle of the bed, diagonal in the bed, however the heck I want to. Which brings me to my next point...
• If I want my dogs to sleep in the bed with me, they can. 
• I can spend my money however I want. Granted, I try to be responsible with that, but if I want to save it for a vacay, I can. If I want to spend it on new jeans, I can. It's my decision.
• If I want to travel, I can pick up and go. No worrying about coordinating other schedules or finding a babysitter or kid friendly activities.
• I can volunteer without feeling like I need to spend more time at home.
• I can start started a book club.
• I can go see whatever movie I want. Even if it is by myself. Not sure you have the confidence to pull it off? Check out this post.
• I can sing around the house as loud as I want to without worrying anyone is going to hear me.
• If I don't want to do the dishes one night, I don't have to. Granted they will be waiting for me the next night, but still. If I don't want to do them, I don't have to. My mess is MY mess... no one else's.
• I can buy whatever brand of toilet paper I want to.
• I can pee by myself. So many friends talk about how they can't even pee by themselves now that they have kids. I APPRECIATE THE PRIVACY.
• If I want to paint my laundry room coral, I can. And I'm going to... No really, I've already bought the paint.
• If I want to get a new job or move to a new city, I can without consulting anyone else.
• I can spend hours at the gym or running or whatever I want without feeling guilty for not spending time with someone else.
• I can go on dates. Or I can say no to dates. 
• I can cook whatever I want. If I want cereal for dinner, I can. If I want cake for dinner, I can.
• All the closets in the house are mine. And yes, 3 out of the 4 closets in my house are full of MY clothes.
• I can do whatever I want with my spare rooms. So one of them is a craft room. Might as well take advantage of that while I can. I seriously don't need 2 guest rooms. 
• I can listen to my music at home as loud as I want and if I want to dance around, I can without feeling like an idiot.
• If I want to hold conversations with my dogs, I can. ... Not saying I do that or anything ...
• There is nothing I find more annoying than hearing "Let me check with my husband..." when I ask someone if they want to do something. I mean, I GET IT. I understand. I REALLY do. And I'll probably do that too when I get married, but dang it, I can make all my own decisions right now and just want everyone else to too. I think the biggest part of this line that gets me is that usually it's not followed up on. Fine, go ask your hubby if he can survive dinner by himself, but then ANSWER ME! I really don't want to have to ask again. I mean, if you don't want to do something, just tell me. I'd rather get a flat "no" than a "I don't know, let me check." and then no follow through. [end rant]
• The thermostat is completely mine.
• All of the food that is in my house is my decision.
• I still have the opportunity to become who I want to be, change what I want to change, see what I want to see, go where I want to go, and dream what I want to dream.

Do I sound selfish? Probably so. Is that my point? Not at all. 

My point is to make you stop and appreciate the season of your life that you are living RIGHT NOW. Whatever that may be. It's taken me 27 years to get to that point, but I think I'm finally there.

What is it about your life that you appreciate the most?