a single circle

Over the past four years I have met some amazing people.  And I've ended up with this weird situation of having a ''real life'' that is all about kids and family, and couples, and then a ''part time'' life that is mainly made up of singles.

I've met them on dates, through friends, through their friends.  At dancing, at work, at church.  Very very few live near me.   Some are partnered, some re-partnered, but most aren't.  A few are enthusiastically trying out re-partnering, with varying degrees of success.   Because they come from different places, they mostly don't know each other. (Although it's kind of scary how close those 6 degrees have got sometimes... ) And they all are keen to make new friends and expand their own social circles.  So, bit by bit, I've been introducing them to each other.

It's been fantastic.  I love it because now my friends all know each other (or at least are starting to!).  They get to meet new people, so they feel good.  There's been a couple of romances.  Some really amazing friendships.  I am stoked. 


I try not to think about the circumstances of how I know them.  After all, if I  - any of them - were still happily (or even unhappily) married, I probably wouldn't have met any of them.  And then certainly they would not have met each other.   So there's a little bit of sadness in there - that the friendships have been born as the result of the demise of another relationship.

But the upside is, we're here now.  There's people who understand, who can empathise, sympathise, and share chocolate or pizza.  There's nearly always someone to spend an otherwise lonely evening with.  For the most part there's no pressure - just simply friendship with no strings.  There's still quite a few who don't know each other yet - and some who have brought their friends along, making the circle even bigger.

How awesome is that!?

ever decreasing circles

As I get older, and ''more single'' i'm discovering that the world is indeed a tiny place.  And not always in a good way.

I know people in several different social circles that are completely unrelated (as in, the only thing one person might have in common with another, is me).  Yet I continue to be astounded at how many of the dating war stories cross over.  This one dated that one.  This one is that ones ex.  This one is going out with the other ones ex ex.

It makes the world of singledom seem all a bit close.  Life gets lived publicly.  Stories are shared and compared and more connections get discovered.  Sometimes it's a good thing - it's easy to learn who to avoid! - and other times it's not - too easy to make a judgement without actually knowing someone.

I can't decide if it's extraordinary or just plain creepy.