The Couples Thing

I remember a married friend once telling me how tired he was of the "couples thing." Being single at the time, I really didn't completely understand the sentiment, but now with a few more rings around the trunk I get it. An important demographic seemingly used commonly to "screen" friends is life stage compatibility (yes, I made that up). Beyond the obvious socioeconomic, age, culture, etc., variables that seem to determine friend eligibility in too many cases, some people, we'll call them wives, actively seek out those that can "share" similar life experiences. And so when dating, it's the double dating thing, when married, it's the couples thing, and with kids, it's the families thing. There's nothing like going to all these kids' birthday parties just so they'll come to your kids' parties, for instance. And so, now I too am tired of the double dating thing, couples thing, families thing, and whatever comes next (possibly the divorced thing if I keep throwing in the wife jabs).