Sometimes I wish we as Mormons had our own counterpart of the Catholic nun. I mean since I have wound up taking a vow of celibacy and unfortunately a vow of poverty I might as well get some kind of credit for it, right? I mean not every Mormon girl is going to marry, so why not give her a post where she doesn't have to feel guilty or sad about not finding her EC (Eternal Companion). My friend has even come up with a name for us Mormon nuns- Mormonja! I guess a word for 'nun' in Spanish is 'monja', so she just combined mormon and monja. Perfect! See my friend's post: http://mormonja.blogspot.com/2008/05/where-did-term-mormonja-come-from.html.
Ok, so I know that that's never going to happen, but that doesn't mean I can't come up with my own kind of nunnery! Wouldn't it be great to have some sort of spinster community where we could support and befriend one another. Technically my nunnery wouldn't be like a Catholic nunnery, nor would it be like living like as a sister missionary. Spinsters would have regular jobs and could even date and evenually get married if they wanted to leave the flock. The great thing about my nunnery would be the friendship AND the combination of resources.
That is the kicker. Just imagine how much we could have if we combined our resources. The sad truth of the matter is that statistically, women make less money throughout their lives than men. I don't know why that is, is it the glass ceiling effect, do women start their careers later or do they just choose careers that don't pay as much? It's hard to say, but what I do know is that it is hard to buy a nice home on a spinster's budget or have nice things. But just imagine if 4 spinsters living together combined their 35,000/a year salaries-that's 140,000/year, enough to afford a nice house and stop blowing our money on rent! I'm not really talking about everyone sharing their money equally like the law of consecration, but I am talking about buying a house together and other things together that you couldn't afford alone!
Now I know there are skeptics out there, because I've talked to them about my plan, but it could work. If someone did decide to leave they could sell their share of the house to another spinster(including the equity they had accrued) or rent it out to another spinster (or maybe do a rent to own plan). There would definitely be some kind of contract that would outline all of the particulars. I know spinsters like to be independent and are often transient, but after awhile you just want to settle down and have a house like all your married friends have. Why can't we have the same things? We can, we just have to be more creative about it.
7 comments:
My friend and I in high school decided we would found a spinster commune. I think there were plans for a band in there as well. I don't know whether we were prescient or just cursing ourselves, but we are pretty much the last two of our high school friends to marry.
Ugh. I'd rather live in a crappy apartment than have to live with 3 other women. Sounds nice, but I've already paid my roommate dues. If I knew for certain that the other women would be totally awesome, that could maybe work. And if I could rely on myself to be totally awesome as well (I know I'm not the easiest person to live with for I will EAT your Doritos), then it could be a possibility. But after years of living with different women, count me out.
The other problem is if 4 women are sharing everything, who gets to pick out the couch? There's a reason why I wasn't born in polygamy times; sharing everything with 3 other girls... just wouldn't work out for me. Women are far too competitive, and it would be difficult to go into a huge commitment, such as buying a house, with 3 other women.
It sounds ideal, but I think the only way it could work is if there were very specific rules for entering into a Mormonja covenant, like, "Thou shalt not lust after thy sister's crush," or "Thou shalt not spill Diet Coke all over thy sister's white silk top."
Even if I could agree with 3 other women on house decor, and live in a really cool place, the material satisfaction would not be able to balance out the emotional trauma. Ha! ;)
LDS Spinster,
I love your idea of going in together to buy a house. If I wasn't going to be hopefully getting married soon, I would totally go in with you and buy a house. I don't make any money, so we would have to live in Rose Park or somewhere, but we could do it. Now if my plans change and I don't get married, let's look in to buying something together. Maybe a condo??? I think with the right people, buying a house could work. I've had cool roommates. Granted they are few and far between, but when you find the good ones, it sure makes you grateful for them.
When I see you in person, remind me to tell you about "Plan B".
Ok, yes, this would not be the life for everyone. But I know I don't want to leave all by myself. I know I would just slip into hermithood and spend all my time watching movies on netflix. And a dog is not enough company either. I like coming home from work and having someone to talk to in person about my day. I like getting all my roommates around the kitchen table and just chatting and laughing. And I like how roommates try to get you to try new things, like swimming in the great salt lake.
Of course not just any spinster would qualify for the nunnery, they would have to go through rigorous tests for coolness, considerateness, responsibility, which would include giving references from former roommates!
Now the only question is what to name my convent--Sisterhood of the Nuptially Challenged?
Scully-I'm glad that you have already thought of this, it shows just how cool you are. Of course it probably did curse you. Oh well, it's hard to know in high school just how easy it is to jinx yourself!
Mormonja-Thank you for being willing to join the nunnery. To bad your upcoming marriage is ruining my life. ;) hahaha
ww-what is plan B, I'm curious
Oh and ii eee-what if the nunnery were in a villa in Italy, would you change your tune?
I thought nuns lived in convents...
I was actually just thinking this same thing the other day - buying a house with other roommates rather than throwing money away on rent. I think it's a great idea but not too many would actually go through with it. Seems like a scary thing. But if you do decide to try it out, let me know!
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