This picture has been hanging in my living room on loan from my amazing painter-friend, Elaine Close, since she was my roommate years ago. Sometimes, thinking about Elaine, myself or any number of other friends, I start to wonder what happened to throw us all off the "normal" societal course. We are college educated and many of us own houses, but beyond that, there are no marriages or babies or retirement investments. Usually I pay no attention to my life in comparison with some vague national average, but then I visit with relatives or hear a news report about the stock market or, as I watch the news, feel relief sweep over my childless life and I'm reminded that, perhaps, I've gone astray.

Is it because I'm a writer and have surrounded myself with artists who, apparently, were either not listening or not interested in the lessons of their parents? Is it some sort of generational thing, or some sort of flaw in the liberal arts education system? I'm not sure. But here we are. All of us surviving despite our lack of 401Ks, PTAs or PDAs. There will always be those who don't understand, and sometimes, I will be one of them. Still, it's nice to know that alternatives not only exist but that they actually work.