Dodging a Bullet

If there are two kinds of social events I hate most in this world, it is family gatherings and weddings. I'm happy to say that I avoided both the other day by not attending a family wedding. It was such a relief not to go - like dodging that proverbial bullet. Once it finally hit home that I'd successfully avoided it, I suddenly felt so alive! I was so ecstatic at my new lease of life that I even cleaned my living room carpet, something I've been putting of for months. Don't get me wrong here - my relief is no reflection on the people getting married. I just don't like weddings. Quite apart from all the religious bollocks and the hell of having to pretend to be remotely interested in people you've never met before and would cross the street to avoid under normal circumstances, I just don't see the point. All too often people seem to get married for all the wrong reasons, often simply because they think they should. They've seen their friends and siblings get hitched so think that they need o follow suit, in order to conform. Frankly, I've always thought that doing something in order to fit in with others is pretty dumb - what's good for them isn't necessarily good for you. We all have to follow our own paths.

Then there's the family aspect. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that family is fine in small doses. Very small doses. To be fair, I've come to the same conclusion about friends. Both are fine now and again, but you wouldn't want to have to put up with them all the time. The trouble with families is that they're always imposing all sorts of expectations o you and assuming that you want to do the same things they do. Once again, we all have to follow our own paths. I've spent years trying to convince various members of my family that I actually like being on my own. I enjoy my own company. The sad fact is that, apart from an accident of birth, as we grow older, we often find that we have less and less in common with our relatives. So there you have it - another chapter in my life of misanthropy! Except, of course, that, far from being a miserable bastard, the less I participate in these social functions that the rest of the world seem to cherish so much, the happier I am!