Entering The Three Step Plan

Back in June I wrote a blog entry entitled “Boomerangs, Beaters and Moodles” that referred to Jeff Green's hilarious men's singles guide and his seven stages of a relationship; I also posted “Another Chapter Begins” in memory of me passing to the dark age and in celebration of Old Maid's Day. Since then life has thrown me some good and bad hands and I have both willingly and reluctantly entered further into adulthood. Several of my more organised and perhaps more ambitious friends have life plans to be carried out within a certain time frame, consisting of three or four stages. The main pattern here in no particular order is:

Marriage

Buying a house

Having kids

(Promotion)

For years I enjoyed living in my house of University days (almost a decade!) and was happy to keep far away from mortgages or indeed any murmur of them. Marriage is often discussed and still seems rather grown-up, despite the fact I am virtually married, just without the paper/rings/photos and currently from a distance. Having children is a thought that still terrifies and repulses me. Despite telling you all how much like my dad I am, one thing I definitely inherited from my mum is her attitude towards children. I am never going to say never but I can safely say that right now I equate the prospect of having children with my life being over.

All that said, now I am back from my travels and The Boy began contemplating renting in Leeds, for the first time in my life I found myself encouraging him to buy. As the recession has been against us all in so many ways, buying a pad while prices were down seemed like a plan.

After various battles and disappointments I let myself in to our “penthouse” flat last weekend. We actually got the keys a few weeks ago and I have spent one night in it before but unlocking the door alone with my own keys was a different matter. I am now in the “homeowner” category and have to admit, it doesn't feel so bad. Of course I am still predominantly in London persevering with the writing malarkey but at weekends, I now have a chill pad and the prospect of hours trawling around shops like DFS each Sunday – something that surprisingly terrifies me less and less.

Although I have entered into the rigid “life plans” of others, I don't think I have an exact “life plan” - perhaps just trying to remain contented, keeping busy and prolonging entry into each of these expected stages is enough for me?