Back off mate (I ain't your girl)

Now, in other life lessons from Sarah...

It is hard enough navigating the roads of friendly relationships between girls and boys. It's even harder to navigate these roads when the friendship becomes a relationship or a sort-of-relationship or could-be-relationship or there's potential or whatever. But there is something that makes this almighty difficulty an immense challenge, and it has recently come to my attention, and thus I feel the need to address it.

When a friend's boyfriend is a little over-friendly - not in an I'm-interested-in-you kind of way but more I'm-affectionate-and-like-holding-hands way -  I can't help but wonder: what does one do? What would Carrie do?

Probably cheat on her own boyfriend.

Wait.

That escalated.

How?

What?

Anyway.

Let's leave Carrie out of this.

This issue has come to my attention through a number of sources who have each expressed the woes of over-friendly-boyfriends-who-aren't-actually-their-boyfriends-but-their-friends'-boyfriends.

Has this become an epidemic of sorts? Why is this something that we are finding more often? Please don't take the Spice Girls seriously boys. If you wanna be my lover, please don't get with my friends.

And now, the almighty question: can men and women be friends?

When Harry Met Sally taught us: no, probably not. Will probably end up married.

Now you're probably thinking, "Oh, goodness. Don't tell me I'm going to marry one of those guys".

Don't be alarmed.

Accept it. Embrace it. You probably will.

But, in all seriousness, is this an issue that should alarm us? Should we do something about this? Or should we just accept affection in this cold, harsh, materialistic world?

Am I too bitter? No faith in humanity? I'll tone it down.

So, as I sip my tea in front of my laptop, I now realise that I've come to no conclusion. My so-called 'wisdom' has provided nothing but a commentary or overview of sorts of the over-affection that one might encounter and that we seem to be encountering more and more often from the people we don't expect to receive it from.

Sure, I'm concerned.

But, maybe we should just cross that bridge when we get to it.

Sarah.