Aggrieved Rant
I'll warn you before you read this: As the subject line says, this is a rant. This is me venting frustrations and anger that I've carried at one level or another for some time. Having given warning, let the rant begin:
You know what I'm slowly coming to realize is the worst thing about being single? Not only does just about everyone else around you have a mate (which just about everyone else does) and you don't. That's bad enough, isn't it? No, evidently it's not.
To make a simplistic analogy: When I was in middle school, and was repeatedly picked last for the various sports activities, at least I didn't have to put up with well-meaning idiots telling me how lucky I was to be picked last, and what a wonderful thing it really was, if I really thought about it. That's pretty annoying too. That's not much fun. But wait! There's more.
Because this is the worst part, this is the addition of insult to injury: Whenever one (or God help you!) two of your friends get married, and you stay single, their life starts moving apart from yours. It doesn't matter if they live next door; they leave you behind. They become part of a world that you really can't understand. It's not their fault. There's nothing that can be done about it. If you are (as I am) truly single, this starts when your friend gets a girlfriend. It's not a big difference, but it's there. The gap grows wider when they get married. When they have kids, though, your friend is essentially gone. You can talk to that person sometimes, but they're not the same person any longer.
You think I'm wrong? Picture this then: You happen to be present when your friend (and his wife (who may or may not be your friend)) gets together with their married friends. Of course, they'll start talking about their kids. You sit there quietly and nod every once in a while. "Really . . . uh huh . . . Wow, that's great."
So there you are . . . doubly alone. You're alone because you don't have a mate, and you're also alone because your friends, who do, are gradually no longer your friends. And ultimately, as time goes by, and you're still single, and fewer and fewer others are, you become more and more alone.
And as far as I can see, this is what I have to look forward to---five or six decades of this before I finally get to check out. Oh yes, how wonderfully lucky I am to be picked last.
You know what I'm slowly coming to realize is the worst thing about being single? Not only does just about everyone else around you have a mate (which just about everyone else does) and you don't. That's bad enough, isn't it? No, evidently it's not.
To make a simplistic analogy: When I was in middle school, and was repeatedly picked last for the various sports activities, at least I didn't have to put up with well-meaning idiots telling me how lucky I was to be picked last, and what a wonderful thing it really was, if I really thought about it. That's pretty annoying too. That's not much fun. But wait! There's more.
Because this is the worst part, this is the addition of insult to injury: Whenever one (or God help you!) two of your friends get married, and you stay single, their life starts moving apart from yours. It doesn't matter if they live next door; they leave you behind. They become part of a world that you really can't understand. It's not their fault. There's nothing that can be done about it. If you are (as I am) truly single, this starts when your friend gets a girlfriend. It's not a big difference, but it's there. The gap grows wider when they get married. When they have kids, though, your friend is essentially gone. You can talk to that person sometimes, but they're not the same person any longer.
You think I'm wrong? Picture this then: You happen to be present when your friend (and his wife (who may or may not be your friend)) gets together with their married friends. Of course, they'll start talking about their kids. You sit there quietly and nod every once in a while. "Really . . . uh huh . . . Wow, that's great."
So there you are . . . doubly alone. You're alone because you don't have a mate, and you're also alone because your friends, who do, are gradually no longer your friends. And ultimately, as time goes by, and you're still single, and fewer and fewer others are, you become more and more alone.
And as far as I can see, this is what I have to look forward to---five or six decades of this before I finally get to check out. Oh yes, how wonderfully lucky I am to be picked last.