Wife And/Or Mother??

We've all heard the old wives tale... get married young, and long before you have a baby, or you will end up alone forever. Forget war, and disease, and global warming -- if you aren't married, and you're knocked up, you're inevitably screwed.
Well, by the standards of whoever those ladies were, I am probably too old to be unwed. And there's no denying that there's a baby inside that bump. I live in a one-bedroom apartment, and work two jobs to be sure I get by, and live over 1000 miles away from my family -- so shouldn't I be a bit more terrified?
Don't get me wrong... I believe in marriage. My parents have been married over 35 years, and despite setbacks along the way, they are two of the happiest people I know. And I think there's a reason why a woman (and man, for that matter) leave their families to form one of their own. But I also think there are way too many people that do it for the wrong reasons, and live in misery because of it.
But I woke up this morning to nothing but the sound of my dog snoring. I stumbled around the apartment half-asleep for about half an hour and read the morning paper, and eventually woke that snoozing pet of mine and took her for a walk. It was my day off, and I literally had nothing to do. Sure, I had plenty of things that I could do, and should have done (like organizing those closets, ugh), but I didn't have to. There was no one there to make plans with, or to look over my shoulder, or to even talk to.
And instead of being miserable, I was very content. Perhaps too content. It was nice to just be there alone.
I know once my little girl is born, I can kiss my independence and sleep good-bye (isn't that what all those old wives say too?). I look forward to that chapter of my life.
But when everyone told me how sick I was going to get in my first trimester, and how I would be hugging the toliet for weeks, I hoped for the best. I have yet to throw up one time. When I was told to expect spurts of unexplained crying and misery for no reason, I seriously doubted the tears would come. Barring one really low day when my childhood pet died, I seem to be constantly chipper. And even though the ultrasound tech was pretty sure that no 3-D photos of my little girl would turn out, I asked her to try. What I got in return are some of the most precious first shots of my baby's face that I will always treasure.
The point here (and I swear I'm getting to it) is that I'm not going to feel bad for myself, or scared, or worried just because someone, somewhere decided my situation is grave. I'm healthy and have accomplished a lot of the things I set out to when I was a little girl. So the marriage piece hasn't fallen into place yet. It will.
Now isn't the time to be a wife. It's the time to be a mother. Just as both can go so wonderfully hand in hand, one can certainly be accomplished without the other.