I flew to Antigua for a weekend. Why? Because I wanted to.

I used to play volleyball four nights a week. Why? Because I wanted to.

I can read books on Saturday mornings—and take naps in the afternoons. I can rile up people's children, then go home. I can run to the store without a second thought. Why? Because I want to. Because I'm single.

Freedom

It's true. Single people have more freedom and flexibility. One married friend muses: "Oh, to be single again." She sees single friends travel, go out on a whim, and make plans without consulting anyone. She loves her spouse and family, but she remembers when her house was clean, and she had time alone.

But don't think that freedom always equals contentment. It can be tiring to be single. All the tasks married people share singles do on their own: paying bills, changing oil, making dinner, doing laundry, taking out the garbage. One friend said she would like, just once, for someone to scrape the ice off her car in the morning.

But loneliness can go beyond wishing someone else would balance the checkbook.

After yet another friend gets married, every single has heard (for what must be the umpteenth time), "When are you going to get married?"

With comments like that, it's easy for singles to believe they are not complete. And don't forget the loneliness of those who are single through divorce or death. For years, these people were committed to a marriage. Now they find themselves alone and don't know where to turn.

"They're full of pain," says Dr. E. Allen Sorum, professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon. "They are broken in half because of their loss."