With Valentine’s Day approaching and all the hoopla that goes along with it, I decided to create a Top Ten List. Being in a relationship definitely has its perks, but there are downsides too.

So, while I am still single and feeling good about it- here is my bah hum bug to dear old St. Valentine’s Day (in no particular order):

1. I get a queen size bed all to myself. Well, some nights. Many nights I end up sharing it with a shorthaired tabby, a 40-lb. Springer-Beagle mix and a very “limby” seven year-old, but the bed does belong to me and only me. Yeah, right.
2. I don’t have to share my bathroom. Well, I guess what that means is that I get 5 minutes to shower before the cat, the dog and the seven year-old decide that they can no longer stand to be in another room without me and pack into our 4×6 bathroom to wrestle around my ankles while I attempt to get ready for work.
3. I don’t have to argue with a boyfriend where to eat out. I get to decide. Yes, I get to decide that it is easier to eat at East Side Mario’s for the one-gazillionth time than to argue and attempt to convince a second grader that she would really love Thai food.
4. Fleece pyjamas. I never have to dress to impress. Head to toe fleece. Some days until noon.
5. No bad manners. Living in an all-girl household means the toilet seat is ALWAYS down, we don’t discuss bodily functions on end and there is this lovely absence of  belching, loudly breaking wind and other “guy” habits.
6. No critics. Being a single parent makes you an easy target for criticism, so the absence of a boyfriend means that I don’t need to hear from a childless bachelor who babysat once in 8^th grade and has a niece he sees twice a month on how to discipline my child. Enough said.
7. No curfews. I can go out. I can come in. I can leave and be gone for hours. No one knows (maybe the cat). No one cares. Yeeehhhhaaawwww!
8. Single friends. I love my older married and divorced girlfriends, but boy, are we full of reality. Life has left no room for us to fantasize about “what might be.” Being single gives me a chance to mingle with younger, not-yet-married people and I tend to enjoy their innocent, looking-forward-to-life spirit. It is uplifting and reminds me of why we push on.
9. Guiltless living. I can devour pizza at 11pm, down an entire chocolate bar or indulge in a second cup of coffee and the only one giving me a guilt complex is me. One of us is plenty.
10.  That very special “mommy time.” No being pulled in multiple directions. No guilt. Just her and I. Plus the cat. And the dog. For now.