We Got "Stood Up"

We had thought that we'd have guests for dinner last evening. We'd made invitations. Two. Invitations.

In both cases, these were people that we've not met in person before.

One was a young man that I met through a Fetlife group. He seemed interested in meeting people with experience in the lifestyle, and we'd discussed meeting for dinner and conversation. We always leave the door open for whatever might come out of these meetings, but there is never any expectation on our part beyond what people might choose for themselves and be comfortable with.

The other potential guest was a young woman that Master had made contact with. I don't know any details about their conversations, but He told me that she was a recent college graduate with only a little bit of lifestyle experience. I believe that, when He invited her, He left the invitation open to include any partner she might have wanted to bring with her.

Truthfully, we really didn't expect either to show since we'd heard nothing at all from either one of them in the days leading up to our planned dinner. Still, until the evening had arrived and passed, we were not at all sure.

It makes me wonder what happened, and it makes me speculate on the causes.

It could be simple rudeness, but I find it hard to convince myself of that possibility. I never had any contact with the young woman, but the young man seemed civilized enough. Surely, he did not appear to be the sort of "badly brought up" young person who would make a dinner date, and then not bother to show up or even send a note...

Maybe it is some nicety of social interaction that simply escapes me. I wonder if there is something to social interaction in these days of Facebook and Twitter and texting and all the rest that is simply different than what made sense in the world where I grew up. Perhaps these young folks are operating from a different "rule book" than the one that I understand.

Or perhaps it was just the pure size of the gap between our disparate ages. After all, we are all well into our 50s and 60s, and these young folks are in their 20s, even their early 20s. The fact of the matter is that, except for the youngest of the children that belong to our family, all of our own "kids" are older than either of these two. And who could blame such youth for choosing not to spend their valuable time with people old enough to be their parents -- perhaps even old enough to be their grandparents.

It makes a kind of sense.

But, then, if you had made a dinner date with your grandparents, and you could not make it for whatever reason, would you not call? Really?

swan