There are Six of Us

There are six of us. We are three couples and all close friends. We live in the same town. We get together often to socialize and to celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, etc. We take turns hosting. Two of us are on second marriages. One of us is unemployed and battling a sense of worthlessness. One of us is having an affair that two others of us know about. It’s not the same one of us who is considering a divorce. One of us is a stay-at-home parent even though no children are living at home at the moment. One of us lacks emotional intelligence and that makes for some strained conversations. Another one is too emotionally intelligent and seems to be an unappointed expert on how to deal with feelings and emotions, causing excessive eye-rolling among some of us. Still, we’re all good friends. Three of us might be considered having substance use issues, but only one of us is trying to do anything about it. All of us drink plenty of alcohol whenever we got together. We all love to have a good time. One of us is an anesthesiologist. One of us is a bestselling author of a thriller series featuring a blind vigilante. One of us admits to still searching for passion and purpose in life, even at this age, but it’s not the same person who lacks emotional intelligence. One of us owns a restaurant. One is a tenured university professor. Among us we have six children ranging in age from seven to twenty-one. Two of our children are dating each other but hiding that fact from their parents. One of our children is a hockey prodigy and might make it to the NHL. One of us no longer has a driver’s license due to multiple moving violations including a DWI. One of us has battled cancer and come out the other side, so far. It worries all of us. One couple among us has an elderly parent living with them and that parent is experiencing the early stages of dementia and so there will be some caretaking decisions to make. Three of us have no parents still living. One of us has just gotten back from a soul-searching retreat and so we’re all getting together this weekend to hear the story of that adventure. Two of us might crack jokes about it. Someone else might call the jokers out for being insensitive. We’re all looking forward to the weekend.