Topic: single women

It can really suck being the single, childless person at a big family function. I’ve been married for eight years now, a mother for six, but I can still remember feeling like a second-class citizen at certain events based on the fact that I was single (never mind that I was truly happy). Like the time, for instance, when I got seated at the “kids’ table” at a distant cousin’s wedding; my brother, just one year older, sat at the “grown-up table” with our parents and various extended family members because he had his wife there with him, which I guess made him worthy. I got stuck eating chicken fingers for dinner and making small talk with random teenagers going through their awkward phase. (Do I sound bitter? Pass the plum sauce!)

Anyway, this got me thinking about Thanksgiving, and the fact people across the country will be forced into similarly uncomfortable situations over the next few days – be it at an intimate family dinner or a 40-person feast. As a former single woman – and for the sake of a peaceful family Thanksgiving – I offer my top eight things not to say to your single sister or to that third cousin twice removed who’s uncomfortable enough as is. Trust me, they’ll remember you fondly from here ’til eternity. More »