'We'
…Not to be confused with ‘Wii’ — One is a state of ‘relationship’ and the other makes you feel like it doesn’t matter that you aren’t a ‘We’.
Vern brought up a good point tonight… We (ha… ‘We’, …not) were discussing how my parties that I’ve hosted recently have been made up of mostly couples, despite the fact that I’m quite single. Vern believes that this has affected the overall demeanor of my get-togethers, and generally speaking, my social life.
He’s probably right. Not that there’s anything wrong with being in a ‘couple’ ‘We’ situation. Because, heck, I aspire to that.
But, that said, being single (err, unencumbered of late?) has led to less invitations to social gatherings where the majority of my friends group up for events that are better served up in a couple-based-social-setting.
Not that I blame my friends. Hell, when I’ve often been in a relationship, and I was determining a good group for a games night, or even a dinner out, it was just easier to invite a close ‘couple’-based friend, than a single one. Not that I put that much thought into it, but it just happens that way.
So… Do you think I’m completely off-base? Have you noticed as a couple, or a single person that invitations become, in part, based on your social situation at the time? (And, I am referring to both being in a relationship, and being invited out because of it, as well as being single, and being invited out because of that status?)
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yes.
yep.
I don’t want to generalize… but i think it is obvious that couples do not socialize with single people because single people are lonely, bitter people.
Hey, did you get Rachel’s email regarding Sunday night? She used Outlook not realizing that she has to hit the little “Send/Receive” button. But thank you for the offer. I had to work Sunday…
Also, I have your game! Rachel will call you to get your schedule so she can drop it off when you are available.
hehe. nice! I can always count on you and Vern to lay it on the line for me ;P
Nope, didn’t get the email, but that’s okay! I’ve postponed it to this Sunday instead, along with a birthday celebration for Vern because he’s getting old… Details to follow in an email if you’d like to join us for some Pictionary action!
And, I’d love to see both of you… Even if it means I have to wait a bit for the game. Are you guys available to come over this weekend to give the Xbox some love?
Yes. Or no. No, wait – what’s the socially acceptable answer these days?
Truthfully? I don’t know – when I get together with friends, their relationship status doesn’t come into it. More often it’s a case of will they enjoy {fill in the blank}?
I can tell you one thing: as a married woman with no plans for kidlets, I (and Paul) have been dropped by many friends who do have children. Ouch.
So an amendment to my original answer: It doesn’t matter much to me, but it does seem to be affecting my social life on some level. Grr.
Hey Cin, that’s a good point. It really came into play when I was married (more with distant friends, though), when I was without kids, but nowadays, I guess I get lumped into the status of single and with no kids.
That said, I’d say a large majority of my couple friends don’t have kids, and the ones that do, don’t exclude me from their outings (which are few, due to being so busy with kids!)
I find there’s a certain tendency for that to happen. It’s very subtle, though, and it’s never spoken about between those who are couples and those who are single. It’s a long-wave evolution: it goes beyond parties and eventually results in single- and couple-based circles generally retreating to their own corners of the ring.
A similar schism occurs between those who have kids and those who do not. It starts quietly when the little people first arrive. But generally by the time the kids are walking and talking, the non-kid-folks aren’t spending as much time with the kid-folks as they used to.
It’s a little odd, and I can’t explain it. But I guess humans tend to hang around with folks with whom they have things in common. Whenever there’s a major shift in what those commonalities are, the people around you tend to shift a bit as well.