I know my life as a single parent is rough with three children, but I can’t imagine having eight!  So far this summer, I have seen her on vacation with her kids and giving out advice that she says she will be giving her own daughter’s (which hey, I’m like come on Kate, what about your son’s as well?) which is to wait until they are at least 30 to married.

I’ve got a friend who totally preaches this as well to her daughter and while I agree to some extent, I also wonder if we all begin to wait til we’re 30, what will that do to marriage or pro-creation, lol.

The reasoning behind the 30 number, I’m sure is because by that age, you are really getting to know yourself, who you are and therefore would be able to pick a more appropriate partner. So I get the logic and reasoning. This advise may or may not help lead someone into a longer (well maybe not necessarily longer since you are starting late) and happier marriage but there are a few things that are being counted out here.

One is that all people are different. Meaning that sometimes age is just a number and some are more capable than others when it comes to making the decision of who a good partner will be. Second, there is also the possibility that someone who would marry at 20 and divorce before 30, would also marry at 30 and divorce by 40. The other two cons that I see in that equation are that it is physically harder on a woman’s body to have children in their mid to late 30’s and that it is highly likely that the longer you wait to get married or have children, that you become more likely to not get married or have children at all. Maybe that is a good thing, lol, but population count could possibly go way down. Maybe a good thing, not sure? Last but not least, I think that there is something really special for the couple’s that marry young and stay married or at least together until they are old. It doesn’t mean they always had the happiest marriages or at times even much of a marriage, but somewhere there was enough love to see them through all of it. They were able to grow together rather than have the need to search for someone who was “compatible”.

I get it. I would definitely be wiser after being a single parent to eight. But there is another side to it, which is that she has made it through, has found a way to support herself and her children and that she really can be looked at as an inspiration to other single mothers out there who have way less children than that to raise. She has been realistic about her situation and knowing that she will probably stay a single mom and she seems to have found some happiness in what some could consider one of the worse possible situations ever to be in. I say, lighten up a little Kate and give yourself a pat on the back.