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I’m the Only One Still Single at This Year’s Family Christmas Party
And, no matter how much I try to feel differently, it still sucks.
The hour-long drive to the annual family Christmas party always makes me feel sick with nerves. I’m not the best at socializing — Christmas celebrations basically stopped entirely for me from the age of ten to twenty-three — and I tend to hang around the edges, even though I’ve seen these same people every year for going on a decade.
Being in the throng of it all, with wine glasses being filled and laughter exchanged, just makes me want to linger in the empty spaces around the house.
It also might not be so bad if I actually had a partner to navigate the familial waters with; alas, that’s just not in the cards for me, even without taking into account my asexuality and the obstacles that brings with forming romantic relationships.
A few days ago, the news came down the family grape vine that the only other single person left in the family was “bringing a friend” — and of course the rumor mill tag began. Flutters of half-stories and hearsay drifted back and forth. It seems the older generation just can’t get enough of the young’uns forays in romance. I would feel bad for this kid and his potential partner, but a part of me is a tad envious.
