Child of divorced parents

Just to clarify, I'm not ACTUALLY a child of divorced parents. My parents are still married, albeit not "happily married."

Anyway, the point is: I was taking a walk yesterday with my mom and contemplating my friends. A lot of my friends have broken their friendships with each other and I'm pretty much the last person they all have in common. In a way, it makes me feel like "the child of divorced parents." This comes from the fact that my friends are not happy with each other or don't want to see each other. It's happened between groups of friends and within groups of friends. I sit and listen to my friends gripe and complain about each other and I do my best to be understanding. Of course it pains me that my friends don't get along with each other as much as I get along with them but it only struck me yesterday how different I was from them.

Being the self-absorbed and existential person I am, I took this thought a little further. Taking a step back and analyzing myself, I realize that I am not like most other people. I'm usually more patient than most of my friends, for one thing, and I do my best to accomodate each one of them. This latter task is more demanding than one might think, given the fact that personalities clash between my buddies and I have to find a way to please everyone and keep the peace.

It wasn't until recently that a friend called me out on this and suggested that I tried too hard to keep peace. This is true. People are going to come into conflict no matter what and it's time I just sit back and let them sort it among themselves.

For now, it seems as if relations are getting better between and among people, but you can never really tell. It might just be the lulling sense of the calm before the storm. We'll see.

Lastly, a note I want to add is the astonishing fact that my friends still care about how I feel in the midst of all this conflict. It still surprises me when someone asks, "Wait, are YOU okay with all this? We don't want to make you feel caught in the middle." My response to this usually goes along the lines of: "I'll be okay. This is YOU guys we're talking about. Not me. I'll be all right."

I am caught in the middle, no doubt, but I can handle it. All the same, thanks for caring anyway.