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Having someone to cuddle up to on cold winter nights, to rant at when you're in bad form, and to cheer you up when you're down is great, but what about the flipside of coupled-up life that singletons never see?
The single girl who goes out every week and flirts with a few guys, maybe getting a date out of it every so often, never has to think beyond herself and her schedule.
Being part of a couple means you think about you, him, your schedule and his schedule. Depending on how long you're together, you may have to think about your family and his family as well as all of the above.
And in-laws can be tough. There's no fight like a family fight, but imagine the pressure when it's not even your family. Even the most loved-up couple can come under serious pressure when the in-laws get involved.
Having to attend family gatherings can be onerous for people who a) have large families and b) don't get on particularly well with them. However, having to go to the get-togethers of your significant other when both of those criteria apply to him or her, can be crippling for any couple.
Who is he not talking to at the moment? More importantly, who is his mother not talking to at the moment? Most importantly, is she talking to you? If not, why not? Family politics are a minefield, and minefields are doubly dangerous when you don't know the lie of the land.
Attending someone else's family functions without briefing notes and a diagram can be akin to a game of Russian roulette. Don't buy Uncle John a drink – he's a raving alcoholic and his wife won't thank you for it. Don't get too friendly with his cousin Dave – he ran off with a previous girlfriend of your other half, scarring him for life. Don't mention the non-Irish taxi driver who drove you to the event to his granny – she was a Blueshirt in the days it meant something, and has 'views' on foreigners.
If you have the type of boyfriend who will brief you on the current situation (and have a keen understanding of the forces behind the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, which is something similar) you may just be OK. If you don't, prepare to grit your teeth and find a small child who will dance with you and make you look occupied. And, more importantly, try to get out of the next one. Of course, you could avoid all the trouble by staying single!
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