until that day ...

this past saturday, i went to the over the rhine concert with erin, kat, laura and amanda at schuba's. it was yet another unsurprisingly wonderful evening with karin, linford and friends. we held our ground in the (more or less) third row and enjoyed a clear view of karin and their sweet drummer for most of the show.

when i couldn't see them, it was the fault of a man of about average height who stood directly in front of me (okay, and also the fault of my own genes for not being tall enough to see over him in the first place). i digress. the guy didn't become a nuisance until halfway through the show, when he felt the necessity to suffocate his girlfriend standing immediately in front of him. now, my apologies to those of you in great relationships who either a) enjoy being the person wrapping your arms around your sig other at a concert or b) enjoy being held so firmly and closely you would certainly die in case of sudden stampede. but really, i couldn't handle it. i felt suffocated. because a) this guy had no rhythm so he'd be trying to sway to his tempo, when obviously his girlfriend was the one with an ear for the beat. so he'd just pull her off course. and - because of their mismatched heights - she'd be hunched over as he held her. i was secretly praying that god would let her be free, unhindered by guy-with-need-to-keep-tight-rein-on-girlfriend. i kept wanting her to stand up straight and be free to dance to her rhythm. he let go eventually when a girlfriend of hers came by to sing along by her side. i feel my prayer was answered.

alright. fine, fine. you can see i'm fully not ready for a relationship. it feels smothering. of course, i can't give this answer to anyone who asks me why i'm not dating. they laugh, and say, more or less, "oh, mary, someday you'll meet someone who you won't mind being smothered by." gag.

so until mr. you-smother-me-good comes along, i've been sent this article. finally, an answer for the very popular question, "why aren't you married?"