domenica, maggio 08, 2011

Social scenery

We have made some friends here, a reasonable quantity considering my misanthropy and the small amount of time we've been here. Most of them are couples with children. No wait - all of them are couples with children. In at least two cases, unhappy ones.

This is a new experience for me - we've always had a decent quantity of couples friends, but here, since there's not much to do in town besides cook for each other and talk (we don't get high anymore, which is a blog post for another time), this is the first time that I feel like we're in a social place with is highly comparative. I don't think it's competitive - I don't think I could be friends with these people if it was competitive - but certainly highly comparative. People spend a lot of time talking about their houses, and about the state of their relationships, and each other's houses and relationships. I don't mind because having a reasonably demanding job lets me put a cap on the amount of time I'm involved in that talk. But it's strange to be a part of that.

Especialy since the F-word and I, who are happy, don't dare compare ourselves in any meaningful way with any of these couples, because they all have children and we don't. We will someday soon, I hope, but for now we have no inkling of that situation and of the sort of stress it'll place on our relationship. I'm not too worried because the couples en crise with kids are couples who wouldn't have stayed together if they hadn't knocked each other up, while the F-word and I have been together childlessly, and I believe would stay together childlessly if need be, for a fucking long time in relative terms. But I am a little worried, because I have no idea what having children will mean. Oh well.

Hmm, I guess I am comparing us in meaningful ways. I do hope that's not unhealthy.