Sosososososo very glad to be married...and why.

Ahhhhh, Dawson's Creek. Although my affair with Pacey, Joey, Dawson and Jen began when they began airing while I was the characters' ages as a sophomore in high school, I quickly got too busy to keep up with them. But I liked them well enough I always wanted to know what happened to them and played catch-up when I was a nanny, trying to make sure I was on the elipitical when the reruns played on TBS and my Aussie friend Kel and I had a little party to view the series finale in 2003. I might have even purchased the first season on DVD.

The show's action depicts the epitome of teen angst and drama set in the backdrop of fictional Capeside, Massachusetts. Essentially, it's a soap opera for teenagers. I don't necessarily recommend it because the show regularly portrays minors doing things I wouldn't have considered even as a non-member adult, but it's a good analogy for my story today.

Now, when you put a bunch of single Mormon kids together, although the settings and activities are different-the level of drama is pretty much the same as what you'll find in any given episode of Dawson's Creek. My experience in the single's branch here was no different. I was actually regularly exhausted and woeful about how much my life resembled a show such as Dawson's Creek as I became sucked into it all. Oh. My. GOODNESS.

But then I got married and that magically all ceased. Vanished in a puff of air. It is AWESOME. I just have my quiet little life with my husband. At Tuesday night burgers yesterday we chatted about how nice it is to know that when we go home, it doesn't matter what we end up doing-whether we cuddle and chat for the rest of the evening or even if he has to get back to work programming for his dissertation and I keep plowing through my adventures getting to know Edward Cullen and Bella Swan better (my awesome mother-in-law sent me my own copy of Twilght!!) we'll be together. We never sit around wondering how our evening will pass because there is someone waiting for us at home eager to spend the evening with us.

It is AWESOME.

So awesome and lovely and all things Good, in fact, I didn't realize until last Sunday just how much I didn't miss it.

Our church services were replaced with a special stake-wide conference with a member of the Quorum of the Twelve (which is a very, very, very big deal to the non-Mormons reading-and for the Mormons, it was Elder Oaks, if you're curious). Being a stake function, the singles branch was there along with all the family wards. I was sitting just a few rows up from the very back and towards the end of the conference I witnessed a very typical scene from the LDS singles culture version of Dawson's Creek.

A young man I know walked down the aisle, perhaps to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom and when he came back instead of going back to his original seat with his friends he stopped and sat down in an empty seat on the aisle next to a girl I know he used to be dating, but judging by the stiffness in her posture when he sat down, isn't anymore. He tried to talk to her and was answered with nods or a shake of the head. She didn't look at him, he kept trying to talk to her...the saga ensued. As I watched it I was reminded of another time when another scene unfolded...I had a date with someone Saturday night and showed up to church late enough Sunday morning that the opening song was being sung and I was able to sit by myself. However, another young man rushed over and sat down next to me and whispered in my ear, "I'm making sure to lean over and say something to you right now so that it looks like I had to come over and for an important reason so nod your head right now. Really, I've been waiting for you to get here so I could sit next to you and when you didn't come sit next to me I came over here instead." Then my date from the night before walked by behind us in the last row to shut the chapel doors... It was a stressful Sunday morning for me.

And just for the record, the 2nd guy's moves were smooth enough he got me to marry him later.

But, watching the couple at conference I was just filled with relief that it no longer resembled my life in ANY way, shape or form. When I was a nanny my employer would listen to the my stories and laugh as she told me that once I was married, life would be boring so to enjoy the adventure while it lasted. She even said she ate it up because she remembered what it was like...

So, as my Facebook status Sunday afternoon declared, I am really, really, really glad I'm not single anymore. I have my boring life with my ever-so-sweet husband-and I couldn't be Happier with it.