Why 'Spinster'?

For some, I know this is a derogatory term because it is also commonly known as 'Old Maid'.  This might cause some to even pity the spinster as she is both old and still a maid (allegedly).  Wikipedia has a good article on the history of spinster.  Personally, I don't see a need to belabor definitions and uses of the word because I don't adhere to them.  Or rather, I'm not afraid of those definitions or uses because they don't scare or offend me even though I'm told that they should.

It's not an effort on my part to try to be 'counter culture' or 'rebellious'.  I guess I've just never been smart enough to be frightened by what it would mean to be in my forties and never married.  At different points in my life I have thought about marriage and children.  There have been times that I've wanted one but not the other, neither, or both.  Seems the children one is falling by the wayside and THAT'S OKAY!  I have one friend who has told me on numerous occasions that my life is will never be fulfilled if I don't have children. I have tried to respectfully disagree.  She hasn't let up, so I now very disrespectfully disagree with her.

How did I get here?

I think we all know the biological way I got into this world, so I will spare you the details of THAT whole debacle.  The question I'll answer is how I got to this place on the world wide web.  I know there are newer, more updated terms than "world-wide web" or "information highway", but I'm an old lady (according to the definition I had of someone my age when I was sixteen) and so would like to cling to the terms that I became accustomed to when this whole infrastructure was being built.

It all started with my parents.  Obviously.  They were foolish enough to believe that, when I was developing into a thinking human being, that it would be appropriate to answer my questions with honest and direct answers instead of 'because'.  If they didn't know the answer, they would sit me down with the appropriate volume of our cherished set of Encyclopedias and figure it out with me.  The only thing this accomplished was to give me the impression that, when I was curious about something, I should ask questions or look up the answer.  What were they thinking?!