Earlier quoted context omitted.
It depends on how old you are. Life is funny and never turns our how you thought it would. I do like going back and reading the article "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" by Mary Schmich (popularized by Baz Luhrmann in the song 'Everybody's Free') from time to time[1] [1] (snippet) > Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth…
I'm 47, a father of two, happily married to high school sweetheart, about to send first kid off to college. I also found the article very sad: not even a pet to cuddle. :-( But, the piece is well written and I don't think the author is sad, nor asking for sympathy. So I'm conflicted in how I feel about it. The author also seems conflicted about whether she wants a man in her life.
The way I read it, it seemed very much like she was an independent woman who really didn't have any great yearning for a close relationship with a man. There's a lot of women out there like that, and honestly, we'd all be a lot better off if they would just admit this to themselves, and stop looking for boyfriends/husbands and just look for casual relationships instead. Someone like that isn't going to be a good relationship partner, and then is going to cause a lot of emotional devastation for some unlucky man.