The Last Chance Ward: A New Perspective

Brief introduction for those not familiar with singles wards: I don't know exactly how it works in other places, but in Logan there are roughly a gajillion wards for the 18-30 single crowd. There is, however, only one ward for those who reach the age of 31 without finding themselves a spouse. This ward is the next level, the place where the 31-45 year old singles have one more opportunity to try to find that special someone before they have to go back to the family ward.  I suppose it may sound sad, but really, most people in Logan do get married before 31, so it's not like there are a lot of people around to populate said ward. Also, it doesn't make much sense to have singles' ward above 45, when there are even fewer people. These are the facts.

Back when I was eighteen or so, when the 31-45 ward seemed a million years away and I was sure that I'd be married by then, I thought it would be really funny to make up a clever nickname for the ward of single adults: The Last Chance Ward. My friends were amused, and it was adopted into our vernacular. It seemed like a hilarious name for a place that I would never have to go.

I've been using this nickname for several years now, so much so that I never refer to that ward in any other way. I use it in casual conservation with people who are unaware that I made up this nickname. I even managed to accidentally lead a co-worker to believe that The Last Chance Ward is the ward's actual name, for which I do feel bad.

Years went by, and I am now 27.5 years old and unmarried (no pity or encouraging comments, please. It's just part of the story). It's been occurring to me lately that I may well be attending The Last Chance Ward someday, and that it might be a good idea to come up with a new, slightly less demeaning name. After a brief brainstorm in Sunday School, I came up with something I like: The New Adventure Ward. Sure, it's a bit cheesy, but it sounds so much better! I think The New Adventure Ward and I don't feel like I'm resigning myself to spinsterhood; I'm just moving on to something different. So what if I don't get married in the Young Single Adult ward? I mean, yeah, that would be great, but that's not God's plan for everyone.

This is my new perspective. And who knows? Three and a half years is a long time, and I could very well get married in that time. If I don't, though, I feel a little better about moving on to the next step. Bonus: no 18 year olds! haha.

Thanks for reading.