Weekend in Review: March 22-24

Well it was the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.  A lot of my weekend revolved around that.  Quite frankly it’s the best sports weekend of the year.  I just wish dumb work didn’t get in the way of watching hoops.  Thursday night, in celebration of said tournament, several of us hit Barking Dog to watch the festivities.  It was great.  I even ended up getting suckered into singing karaoke – an activity I am not fond of.  I am nothing if not a team player though and filled in as an alternate.  I think it is safe to say that I didn’t embarrass myself.  Maybe I did, what do I know.  I really didn’t try to impress any ladies present.  I was just me a bit loopy.  Though I did hug this girl sort of strongly as the night ended.  Perhaps that was a pretty good indication I was overdoing it. 

Friday wasn’t much of anything except for the gym and basketball.  Saturday was work and then basketball.  Then later that night, we went over to a friend’s house to celebrate the Persian New Year, plus the one year anniversary of a friend’s daughter being alive.  Any excuse for a party or gathering, I am down.  Any excuse to be near Mediterranean/ethnic cuisine, I’m down.  Upon arriving, I noticed something though.  There were at least five children under the age of five there.  In addition, there were other children slightly older.  In addition, there were expecting parents.  In addition, there was a lot of commotion.  This is the evolution of a party.

See, back when you were in early grade school it was birthday parties at Chucky Cheese with everyone from your class whether you liked them or not.  Pizza and gifts.  When you were a little older you would have parties at your house, and you would invite girls not just because they were in your class.  Pizza and gifts.  Then when you were old enough to drink, all the parties were just a gathering at a house or apartment to pregame and then hit some hip joint in town and have everyone pay for your drinks.  As you get older, and you have occasion to celebrate more events, there are extra invitees.  Nowadays, at this point in everyone’s life, parties are going to have a ton of infant children.  That’s the next step.  An all-inclusive party.  Children and all.  It’s funny to experience it first-hand.  This isn’t the first time I’ve been to a party filled with babies.  It just happens to be the most recent. 

It brings me to this:  the evolution of a relationship starting in your late 20s or early 30s.  Ultimately, a lot of people are going to become parents.  I would venture to say that most people want to have children.  At almost-30 (I’m going to milk that until I actually hit that age), it seems that half of couples I know have kids and half don’t.  Kids are part of the fabric of the friendships now.  You gotta get used to it.  So then here’s the thing.  Eventually, one would imagine, I’m going end up “going steady” with someone.  Eventually.  Dan, we are all holding out hope!  Soooo in your 30’s and dating, is the clock not ticking for women to start procreating?  There is a window that women would prefer to fit their baby-makin’ into.  It’s not only better for their health, but for their maternal qualities as well, I guess.  Marisa Tomei says it best:

The point here is, how much time do I have to ease into a relationship at this point in my life?  Do I get 2-3 years?  I’m sure each woman is different, but time is definitely a factor here.  In fact, quite a few women I meet are going to already have children.  It’s a new era.  It’s the age we are in, and it takes some getting used to.  After this weekend it dawned on me that you might not have the convenience to just take your time.  This isn’t five years ago when all anyone was worried about was  what beach they were going to this summer. 

I realize I’m putting the cart waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before the horse here.  But you can’t help thinking about it.  It was Persian New Year Gymboree in there.  The diaper bags were lining the back of the loveseat.  It was quite a sight.  I just want all women to know that I understand.  I really do.  At some point I’m going to grow up and not want to go out and pound beers at every given opportunity.  I will be able to balance my time between the responsibility of caring for other human dependents and being completely self-consumed.   That day is not today.  But when I get there you’ll be the first to know.