Recently, The Sunday Gleaner headlines highlighted women who were supposed to be single and super. But from the contents of the articles, I got the impression that these women were far from happy with their status. A more fitting general headline would have been 'Single and searching'.

I am of the view that women who are single and super don't give a row of beans about marriage in the near or distant future. Happy and super-single women don't want to be mothers and they certainly don't think their world or life is incomplete without the husband, two children, white picket fence and the dog.

Misleading comparison

To compare talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey with other single women is misleading. The last time I checked, she was in a stable common-law union and, on one show last week, she even talked about making special meals for her man.

So, here is my checklist of things that will tell women whether they are really single and super:

1You are between the ages of 25 and 50, unmarried and unperturbed.

2You don't have to hang out at church or other places in the hope of meeting available single men.

3You do not hear a biological clock ticking.

4You don't need a man to pay your bills.

5You love and enjoy your own company so much that you can't wait for friends and other company to leave you alone in your space after a visit.

6You do not need a man's approval or company to validate you and give you a reason for living.

7You have no need to catch bouquets at weddings because you don't need wilted flowers to foretell your future and you don't panic just because all the girls from your class in college are married with children.

8You can accommodate a man in your life on your terms without compromising your values or principles.

9You accept the possibility that you could be destined to remain single for the rest of your life and it's OK.

10 You don't think something is wrong with you and that is the reason why you cannot find a man.

Trust me sisters, just have a chat with some of your married girlfriends who are honest enough to tell you that they would trade places with you in a heartbeat if they could.

lifestyle@gleanerjm.com