By: Vicki Anthos
I’m a single lady! Beyoncé may sing the song, but I live this life, everyday. But there is a caveat to my way of life: I have never been divorced, because I have never been married and I am not a mother, as I do not have children. Am I seeking your sympathy? Certainly not. I am simply writing about a demographic in our population that gets very little attention. I mean, no attention. We are a minority that has always been overlooked because we don’t fit in.
Let me first apologize in advance because you will read my thoughts below and think, “she is just a miserable woman who never had a happy holiday in her life!” This is not true. I love being with my family but it is not easy and I don’t know how many of you have actually thought about what it is like to be single in a very married world.
I want you to walk in my shoes, just for a minute or two. Picture this – it is Thanksgiving, a very family-centric holiday and you all gather around the beautifully decorated table laid out with wonderful and tasty family dishes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Your brothers and sisters are enjoying the day with their spouses and children as they share and laugh about their latest family drama, how the kids are doing in school or what major accomplishments have happened in the kids’ sporting endeavors or musical pursuits. Your proud parents are sitting at either end of the long table, smiling as they take in the joy of family. You in your singleness are sitting at the table, trying to enjoy your turkey and wearing a fake smile because you are tired of this lovey-dovey display of happiness that takes place every single November. You really can’t relate to the family drama or being proud parents/grandparents because you are single. You feel as if you do not belong to your own family.
This gets magnified one hundred-fold at Christmas for obvious reasons-kids squealing with delight over their presents while the wives ooh and aah over the thoughtful gifts from their husbands. Lucky you get a token gift because you took the time and spent your hard-earned money to travel to spend time with family.
Now we get to one of the most dreaded holidays for singles-New Year’s Eve. If you do not have a date or a significant other, you stay home and watch Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen celebrate the holiday from New York City. How many times do you have to see the camera pan to couple after couple kissing at midnight before you vow not to watch this display next year or turn off the television at 11:58 pm? Who wants to be the obvious single person at that party? Not me.
I am guessing by now you don’t want my opinion about Valentine’s Day!
After living in Delaware for the first 55 years of her life, Vicki Anthos moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 2016 to get away from the snow and ice. She has a wide range of interests and she is a huge fan of professional sports, specifically Philadelphia teams, and enjoys playing golf in her spare time. Now that Vicki is living in South Carolina, she is able to play golf year-round!
Two years after graduating from the University of Delaware, Vicki lived in Madrid, Spain and taught English as a second language. While living in Europe, she took advantage of the opportunity to travel to Germany, France, England, Belgium, Gibraltar and throughout Spain. She returned to attend the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and visited Greece and Turkey during that trip.
She traveled to New Orleans with members of her Delaware church two years after Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild the city. After seeing the enormous need in New Orleans, she continued to help the rebuilding efforts during six more trips over 12 years.
In December 2019, Vicki started a floral arrangement business since she realized she has the gift of flower arranging once she joined the flower guild at her Charleston church. She enjoys creating beautiful arrangements that bring smiles to the recipients, whatever the celebration may be-Mother’s Day, Baby-to-Be, Daughter Pick-Me-Up, birthdays, anniversaries, or Valentine’s Day. To brighten someone’s day and support women-owned small business order your next bouquet from Chucktown Flowers. www.chucktownflowers.com/