I work in an office that has all men in it, and me. (Trust me, it’s terrific! Plus, I have my own bathroom, lol!) Two of the men and I are all on the higher side of 50 – of the other 3, 1 is early 3os and married-with-baby, and the other two are in their late 20s.

The boss has been married 3 times – the third time “stuck”, as he calls it. My other over-fifty coworker and I have been married 30+ years. The youngest two, while they are in long-term relationships, are not thinking about marriage. They say it’s an outdated concept.

Statistics bear them out. Over 51% of the people in their 20s are NOT married.  Just twenty or so  years ago that figure was in the 20th percentile (I think – or hey, maybe I’m making these numbers up!). At any rate, the trend is away from marriage in your twenties. Not a bad plan – but what will that lead to?

Marriage in your 30s? Kids in your 40s? Or no marriage, and kids whenever you feel like it? What about when the going gets rough – really rough – job loss, health issues – without the bond of marriage (or kids perhaps) – what will keep you together?

What about when you get old? You’re in your 60s now – do you really want to START dating at this age? START getting serious about someone?

I’m not saying everyone should be married by 20 (that’s when I got married) or have kids by 30 (ditto) – but I will say that’s one of the reasons I write those happy ever after endings. I know some people who aren’t married or in a committed relationship who are now in their 50s – men and women – and it makes me sad (though they would probably be horrified to hear that).

If I had my way, everyone would be paired up – their heart opened, softened, changed by the love of and for another person.

I probably should have written something about Friday the 13th – but I’ll save that for the next one that comes around.

If you haven’t found me on the web yet, come check out my website where I talk about inexpensive wines every Friday. And sometimes I talk about other stuff during the week.

You can find my book DEMON SOUL here…hope you have a wonderful, joy-filled 2012!