Yesterday I went to visit my friend in Middlesex, about 2 hours away from where I live. She has two young children and is primarily a housewife, while her hubby works as a computing engineer. I haven’t been seen them for about a year, and though I am always very welcome there, I also feel quite awkward.

When I met my friend, Katsu* at music college, we were both single girls without many responsibilities. Now I’m still single and irresponsible, while she is a married mother of two. She met her husband at church, and they are both committed to their faith.

Near the end of my visit, Katsu asked me about my love life and I said that I wasn’t involved with anyone; she said that I’d meet a “nice, sincere man” in church. Not wishing to be impolite, I simply said, “No, thanks.” And I think that surprised her, as she repeated my words back to me in a quizzical way.

We also had an interesting conversation about the housing market. When Katsu married her husband in 2001 he had a small 1 bedroom flat already. Four years ago, when they decided to start a family they sold the flat and rented a small 2 bedroom house, in the hopes that house prices would fall eventually. I don’t know how much their rent is, but it must be at least £1000/month. She asked me if I was planning to move out of my parent’s house soon, and I explained that I wasn’t able to at the moment due to: a) high house prices, b) the current difficulties in getting a mortgage, c) not being accepted onto the council housing register, and d) my low income. She asked me why I didn’t rent a flat and I basically said that I couldn’t afford to. Then she said that I should have a lot of savings from living at home, so I should be able to live off my savings… I didn’t want to get into an argument, so I just said that I pay rent to my mother and have bills to pay so I’ve haven’t got loads of cash. Then later she said that her husband was in charge of all of their finances, so I guess that she’s doesn’t have to worry about that side of things.

Another reason that I always feel awkward when I visit Katsu is that she always makes a big deal out of my fussy eating habits. I feel like such a complete weirdo when she brings up that subject.

It wasn’t a horrible visit at all though, it just showed me the differences in our lifestyles and perspectives.

I was so embarrassed when Katsu’s 3 year old boy suddenly poked me in the chest and shouted, “Big!” He kept on trying to grope my breasts, and I had to hold him off and tell him not to several times. I guess he’s not used to busty women…

Written by PJ | Posted in real life

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