Checking out property

I am one of those girls who got her career moving, exhaled, looked around, and realized everyone else had paired off. As you might have noticed, my search for someone else who is also just now exhaling and looking around isn’t going so well. So in a brilliant attempt at doublethink, I am proactively on the dating scene while proactively embracing singlehood.

Part of accepting singlehood means getting on with other parts of my life, like buying a home. Recently I took a beginning homebuyers course, and in filling out the form for the class I found myself checking boxes for Female Head of Household, Non-Hispanic, and Unmarried.

What? I thought I was just single! Unmarried? Is that like being Undead?

Unmarried. Nonmarried. Dismarried. Straggler. Other.

I think I like “Other.” Make it perfectly clear that there is a normal and I am COMPLETELY outside of that. In fact, I would like every form I fill out that asks for my marital status to include, “If you checked Other, please explain in the space below.” This is what I would say:

While not crazy, commitment-phobic, flighty, needy, scared of sex, or possessing a criminal history for statue molestation, I have high standards and haven’t met anyone yet. Yes, I would like to meet your brother/cousin/neighbor’s foreign exchange student. I like Thai food and wine bars.

It is odd to be thinking about all of this during a beginning homebuyers course, since the young couples surrounding me often speak of looking for a home as if they were talking about dating. “What if I’ve already accepted but a better offer comes my way?” “I guess renting is better for me for now.” “If I absolutely fall in love with a home right away, is the process any faster?” “I know what my ideal is, but I guess I have to decide what I’m willing to give up.” “Do I trust them if they say they’ve had an inspection but I haven’t seen the paperwork?” “How long should I look for? I mean, you never know when a couple is going to…sell.”

On second thought, maybe I’ll wait on the homebuying for a bit. It’s just way too much dating right now.