One thing I've realized in all of this is we fall into a very strange category than the majority of our friends and family. Those who are childless are either single, have chosen to be child-free or are much younger than us. Those with children are either our age with young children or are older and have adult children. It makes for an unbalanced social life in which we are usually the odd men out.
For example, this weekend we are planning a BBQ and game night for our close friends and siblings. When the invitation went out, those without children were the first to respond. Those with, needed more details. What kind of games will you be playing? Are kids allowed? There's absolutely nothing wrong with those questions, that's not why I'm writing about it. As an independent couple, the term game night doesn't evoke an image of a family sitting around the table playing Monopoly or Life. Our intention, one that we never considered otherwise, was to play drinking game. Kings cup, beer pong, flip cup and so on. It never even crossed our mind that anyone would think otherwise.
On the flip side, I find myself relating more to couples who have kids or are planning it in the future. Living child-free is not the life I have planned. And although I enjoy this independent life now, I envision a day where that won't be possible. A life, I've heard, sometimes causes riffs between friends with kids and friends without them. It's never anyone's aim to loose friends, but it's inevitable that the common ground you once shared with your partying, free-living friends will shift with your focus.
So here we sit in the crack between maintaining strong relationships with our child-free friends and trying to live a more subdued life of movie night Friday's and early afternoon birthday parties.
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