The Not So Great Divide

I’m not sure if it’s that the fact that my most recent romantic experiments appear to be taking an unfavorable turn or that I’ve witnessed the demise of the relationships of a few close friends or something else entirely but I found myself on the train to bitter town a few days ago. I’ve since recovered but it got me thinking about the divide between singles and couples.

My single friends make snide, half-joking comments about happy couples from time to time. These snarky remarks become more frequent as the weather warms. Wedding season sets in and singles start to resent the happy couples who surround them.

This isn’t the case all the time, in fact, I think 99.99 percent of the time singles are happy for their coupled friends. It’s just when the public displays of sickening affection surface that we start to swat at the love birds fluttering around us. There are probably times when we are out of line, but seriously is it necessary to incessantly pepper every conversation with “babe”?

Anyway, I’m departing from my original pondering; do couples ever view their single friends with disdain? Do they think their solo pals wantonly flaunt their single status? Is it a grass is greener issue or is it completely one sided?

I don’t ever remember being the slightest bit jealous of my single friends when I was in a relationship, but I think I actually might be if I were tied down now. I also have married friends who openly admit they wish they were in my shoes on occasion. It’s not that they aren’t happy in their marriage, it just comes with responsibilities. Just as I’m thrilled with my life right now; it just comes with the incidental hints loneliness. (All the world’s a stock market and the men and women merely traders, sorry bad joke.)

Perhaps these occasional feelings of bitterness aren’t about love and loneliness but more a situation of wanting something just because we don’t have it. At any rate I am thrilled that many of my friends have found individuals who make them happy and do harbor hope that it will happen for me someday (even if I don’t necessarily want it to happen soon). I’ve come to realize that my weaker, woe-is-me moments are normal (right???) and will pass as unexpectedly as they come.