Happy Valentine's Day, Single Friends!
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Today, I want to dedicate my blog to all of the single women out there. I spent way too many Valentine’s Days feeling marginalized and alone because of my singleness. This silly holiday has a way of stealing joy, and I’m here to say “NOT TODAY!” I’d be lying to you if I told you that I LOVED being single. I didn’t. I so admire women who embrace it with such beauty and confidence, but I was not one of those women. At a certain point, I deemed myself “perpetually single”. I spent years without a date and then I spent years with a whole lot of very bad dates. I’m not entirely sure which was better, but I came out of it all with a whole lot of stories (those are for another day…). Anyway, today I want to tell you why I’m so thankful for my single years. Because who wants to hear one more sappy love story today?!
1.Awesome Female Friendships: I knew almost no one when I moved to Pittsburgh. So I found a church and joined a women’s small group. Every week, we would all get together, drink a glass of wine, and talk about Jesus. We became best friends, and it was awesome.
2.Doing Stuff Alone: Have you ever plugged in your headphones and gone for a long walk by yourself? Or just a casual trip to Target? Or to the movies - whatever you wanna see? It’s so liberating!
3.Habits: You can really sink into (and enjoy) your habits that other people don’t appreciate. For example, I love drinking milk straight out of the carton! And I squeeze the toothpaste tube right near the nozzle instead of from the end.
4.Identity: If I had a boyfriend all those times I WISHED I had a boyfriend, I would not be the person I am today. Because no matter how much I would have denied it then, I was pretty moldable. I was still figuring things out, and I’m so glad I got to do that without the influence of a guy.
5.God’s Timing: If I could have written out my love story and then snapped my fingers and lived it right then…it wouldn’t have been as good as what actually happened. Because God’s better at writing love stories than I am. I know that now.
So remember, your value is not based on your relationship status. It’s hard to embrace singleness sometimes, especially on Valentine’s Day, but I’m here to cheer you on :)
Now here’s my favorite small-batch chocolate chip cookie recipe. Go have yourself a treat!
2 T Melted Butter
1 T Sugar
2 T Brown Sugar
1/4 t Vanilla
1 Egg Yolk
1 Pinch of Salt
1/4 t Baking Soda
1/4 C Flour
Chocolate Chips
Mix butter, sugars, and vanilla. Mix in the egg yolk. Mix in the salt, baking soda and flour. Mix in chocolate chips. Spoon into 2 balls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
(recipe courtesy of the HGTV Instagram page)