It's so odd.

Since coming to the Seattle area, I have been thinking about marriage and relationships a lot. I have caught myself watching couples on bikes, gazing at the twosomes out at restaurants, and really noticing all of the pairs around me. Wait for it, that's not the odd part; I know that there are couples everywhere. The odd part is that recently I have been noticing couples and instead of rolling my eyes or quickly darting past them, I've been admiring. oh no.

I was driving yesterday when I caught myself staring at the couple in the car in front of me. He was singing along loudly to the radio, she was giggling uncontrollably at him. They had their backseat packed to the brim with gear like they were going to go do something superfun together. I found myself smiling at them, at how much fun they seemed like. I couldnt stop gawking at these two, it was ridiculous and borderline intrusive.

Upon further reflection, I discovered the culprit of my recent bout of smush-tolerance;

I'm now surrounded by functional relationships. Gasp!

No detail is needed here, but it would be accurate to say that my examples of healthy, happy, functional marriages are not the most obvious. From where I come from, marriages are pretty much endured and relationships end more than they stay. Not just my parents, but my closest friends and relations as well. I don't know, it's just the reality of it. People aren't perfect, and marriages are messy. After all, does it really make sense for two smelly, flawed, humans to be together all the time without wanting to bash the other repeatedly? Furthermore, all of the cities that I have lived in since leaving Spokane boast large populations of contented singles like myself and therefore I have been surrounded by people who live like me. These facts, mixed with my own disastrous dating experiences have garnered me a somewhat apathetic view on love and marriage. Meh. If it happens, fine. But in the meantime, I certainly am not going to wait around chasing a pipe dream. I've got bigger fish to fry. My life started way before I meet Mr Ryan-Reynolds-meets-Jason-Mraz-meets-Mike-Rowe. I function very much on the avoidance of apple cart disrupting. I have rigged my life to play exactly how I like it, and have learned to crave independence while being perfectly lonely.

The difference, now, is that I am around so many delighted relationships. For some reason, most all of my friends and family who live here all still like their others. I've been third/fifth/seventh wheel at every social event I go to, what the heck? Racking my brain, racking my brain..... nope, no single friends here. Just people who love the one they're with, who play and laugh and excite each other to no end. The worst part is, they make it look easy! Where the hell are all the fits of rage, the bruised feelings, the lying, cheating, and neanderthals?! Therefore, a theory has been brewed:

Seattle makes people love each other. Awww.