Single mom wants no husband

Dear Annie: I am 31 and a never-married single mother. Along with raising a happy 5-year-old, I have a small business, and I attend school part time.

I’m tired of supposed well-meaning friends implying that I should marry. They ask, “Do you want to die alone?” or “Don’t you want a father for your son?” I answer them with humor, but I don’t appreciate the questions.

Please help your readers understand that it is OK not to be interested in marriage. Not everyone wants to share a bed or a bathroom or a bank account. Many of the married moms I know are unhappy, and quite a few end up raising their husbands, as well as their kids. Being single isn’t a mark of failure and doesn’t require an explanation. I understand the value society places on marriage, but what happened to the value of minding your own business? – Parent in the Northeast

Dear Northeast: Good luck with that. If the same friends keep making the same intrusive remarks, tell them politely, “I cannot imagine why you think this is your business.” It may be less gentle than you’d like, but it should put an end to the questions.

Dear Annie: “Friend of a Young Cancer Victim” said it’s a waste to have flowers at a funeral. Flowers not only provide comfort for the bereaved, but also create jobs from growing the flowers to shipping them, providing containers for the arrangement, filler for the containers, etc. Without these beautiful arrangements, some of us would be unemployed and unable to donate to those charities she champions. – Linda