Everyone knows what cuffing season is, so I won't explain that. Not everyone may know what Non-Dating Season is, but it will make perfect sense in a minute. Non-Dating Season is the three-month period from November 15-February 15 in which it is folly for people - especially men - to start new relationships. These seasons obviously clash. Let's take a look at them.
If we choose to participate in cuffing season, then we - assuming success - have someone to "cuff". It doesn't necessarily have to be physical, although it usually is. Someone obviously came up with it as a cute term to use in attempts to pursue women (I'm pretty sure this was a man's idea) when the temperature dropped.
The advantages are obvious: you have someone to spend time with and whatnot. You can do things, go places, and be more social. Holiday gatherings tend to have more of a 'couple' feel, whereas summer events tend to be more solo. You also don't have to worry about being the fool who's alone during the holidays and the one who's solo on Valentine's Day.
The disadvantages are pretty much the opposite side of the same coin. You may have to go to events of theirs that you may not want to attend. There's another person - or maybe even a group of people - to deal with. You may have to stretch your holiday budget further. You'll almost definitely have a Valentine budget if you didn't have one already - and if you plan poorly, that budget will not be nice.
Now, for Non-Dating Season. The advantages are pretty clear. First and foremost, you save money. Laugh and/or stare if you want, but let's not act like that isn't important. It's hard enough to stretch those dollars out among family members and/or friends, but then to add someone to the mix? Yeah, usually better off not done. You also save yourself the headaches mentioned in the above paragraph.
Disadvantages? Well, you go through those cold nights alone. For some reason, it actually is more difficult to get through those when it's cold. It's not like other people really keep us warm. Maybe there's some psychosomatic type thing going on: maybe we just feel warmer. At any rate, you can run into the social and not-so-social issues that this time of year can bring if you choose to actively engage in NDS.
Yes, there is an area of middle ground. You can try for the "best of both worlds" scenario and cuff someone with no strings attached. That's a tightrope of an act, though. It's only advised for those who know how to navigate such situations, and even then there's always the variable of the other person. The best laid plans go awry, so all signs that relay caution should be observed.
Basically, the decision for all us single people is "no money or no honey". Being a staunch proponent of NDS, I firmly fit in the group of those who have decided the latter. I'm more than cool with it. I've found my single life to be much less stressful than any facet of relationship life ever was. So it's cold sometimes. Whatever. NDS doesn't bring any situation that I can't handle, so long live NDS.
No comments:
Post a Comment