Rings and things
Scenario: A co-worker spends the morning telling one colleague after another the story of how her boyfriend proposed on Saturday night. Much squealing and jabbering ensues.
Reaction: Stay out of the fray at the start, then begin to roll my eyes every time a new person walks by her cubicle and begins to scream. By 11:00 am, I am mumbling mean things to my computer that translate roughly to "who cares?"
Diagnosis: Am I a single forty-something woman who is insanely jealous of another woman's happiness? Or is it as I profess, that the whole concept of sitting on my hands waiting for a man to decide we're ready to get married is repulsive to me? I find it difficult to summon up excitement over it. Would I feel any differently if I were in a serious relationship? I don't think so. Am I knocking all the women who get engaged in the traditional manner? No. Maybe I'm just not the squealing type.
Addendum: I spent the weekend at a family wedding, one of the more formal to happen in our family in my generation, this one for a second cousin I don't know very well. But, it was also not really the wedding, because the couple got married several months ago when they felt like they wanted to be married, and this was simply an occasion to get together with friends and family to celebrate. One of my aunts disapproved but it all made sense to me. There was a long white dress, a church ceremony (with a minister and a prayer) and seating assignments at tables in a big white tent. A deejay and dancing, a multi-tiered wedding cake. Much more formal than the last family wedding, which was in the backyard of the local fire house, with a pig roast and a request for guests to bring "a dish to pass." And no alcohol. (This weekend there was a martini bar.)
I'm back at work today, as you may have figured out. I hate back-from-vacation Mondays.
Reaction: Stay out of the fray at the start, then begin to roll my eyes every time a new person walks by her cubicle and begins to scream. By 11:00 am, I am mumbling mean things to my computer that translate roughly to "who cares?"
Diagnosis: Am I a single forty-something woman who is insanely jealous of another woman's happiness? Or is it as I profess, that the whole concept of sitting on my hands waiting for a man to decide we're ready to get married is repulsive to me? I find it difficult to summon up excitement over it. Would I feel any differently if I were in a serious relationship? I don't think so. Am I knocking all the women who get engaged in the traditional manner? No. Maybe I'm just not the squealing type.
Addendum: I spent the weekend at a family wedding, one of the more formal to happen in our family in my generation, this one for a second cousin I don't know very well. But, it was also not really the wedding, because the couple got married several months ago when they felt like they wanted to be married, and this was simply an occasion to get together with friends and family to celebrate. One of my aunts disapproved but it all made sense to me. There was a long white dress, a church ceremony (with a minister and a prayer) and seating assignments at tables in a big white tent. A deejay and dancing, a multi-tiered wedding cake. Much more formal than the last family wedding, which was in the backyard of the local fire house, with a pig roast and a request for guests to bring "a dish to pass." And no alcohol. (This weekend there was a martini bar.)
I'm back at work today, as you may have figured out. I hate back-from-vacation Mondays.
posted by medusa at 1:18 PM
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