The Great Divide

It's an age old practice in countries across the globe.
You marry someone so that you never have to talk to them in social situations. ever. again.


I recall my parents and their friends doing it.
'It' being same sex socialising.
I've seen barbeques where there could well be a gender line down the middle of the backyard.
(With the bbq clearly being on the men's side and any people below 130cm being on the women's end of things.)
It occurs at pubs, restaurants, parties  - and now in our social circle apparently.


On the weekend, Hubby and I had a beautiful time celebrating a friend's birthday with a dinner out. We had a gorgeous meal, plenty of bubbles (that would be mainly me) with lots of great company... but almost separately.

By the time we had found a park and entered the restaurant, 6 or 7 of the men in our group had seated themselves and 6 or 7 of the women had also seated themselves - at separate tables from one another.
Hubby and I didn't have much choice but to follow suit.
There was to be no mingling, no stuffing up the wait staff with seat swapping and no face to face interaction between male & female.
Luckily, Hubby and I were seated almost back to back so could sneak in a little hand holding, food sharing and taking digs at one another.

(I much prefer to make fun of my man when he's in earshot and much prefer he make fun of me when I can refute the bold faced lies!)

Maybe I'm coming from my place of having spent precious little time with my husband in recent months, but if we go to the trouble (and expense) of organising a babysitter, getting ourselves all dressed up (or at least showered) and leave the house together, I'm hoping to spend a little down time with my husband and our friends outside the confines of mi casa.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to crash the boy's night and I love me a girls' dinner or twenty. I'm well aware that the blokes don't necessarily want to be party to discussions of top sheet vs no top sheet, new teacher vs old teacher or sparkling vs still (as in alcohol).
I don't necessarily want to be privy to many of their earth shattering debates either.

But, I find this division of the sexes a bit puzzling.
How about you?
Do you and 'yours' split on arrival or stick like glue til death do you part?

Shar :-)