the boyfriend

she thought she was being funny. she thought she was being nice. and she was. but the timing was terrible.

both my sister and my mom found it hilarious when they showed up at my house tonight with my new boyfriend.

"he" was my (belated) Valentine's present from my sister. he is of the "just add water" variety.

most any day I would have laughed along with them. but after spending the weekend defending my solo status, I was not all that amused. I had hurried home from our annual company ski weekend to meet my mom and sister for dinner and The Boyfriend*.

for the last 48 hours I had been hanging out with coworkers I see all too often and their fabulous significant others and kids. many harrassing me for not having an SO, for not inviting a guy I've seen once to come up.

in the past the weekend has been fun. hanging out, drinking and playing games with coworkers that seem like extended family. we used to head to the bars. we used to break into the hot tub after hours.

this year was different. the number of kids has nearly outnumbered adults. and the parents aren't as excited to sneak away to do shots at the bar as they have been in the past. even the young ones in the office were mellow this time.

the sweet victory of the women engineers over all of our bosses and coworkers in the annual game of Cranium couldn't even make a dent in the dullness of the weekend.

perhaps it's because we've all been working too hard. perhaps we're just getting old. perhaps it's because the snow is already pathetic. but the weekend wasn't as fun as it always has been.

maybe it was entirely my perception, since the harrassment for flying solo was directed only at me this year. and it didn't cease.

regardless of the reason, my sister's present tonight didn't help. my usual feeling of being fine with where I am in life has yet to return.

it will. and soon. but tonight I am not amused.

* old musical that is currently playing Denver, directed by Julie Andrews. cute, but not great.