After all the worrying about my family asking whether I had found a girlfriend yet...

Firstly things went better than expected and NOBODY asked me if I had found a girlfriend. This made me very happy.

Today, however, I went to visit my grandparents and I was talking to my grandmother. I asked who was over on Christmas day and she mentioned that my one of my uncles, in his early fifties, had brought an SO over for the first time. My grandmother is in her late 70's, married at 22, so she's been married for over 50 years. She seemed completely mystified as to why my uncle had never brought a girlfriend home; she even said "I'm sure he has had ladyfriends before". Although I don't see this uncle often I do look up to him because he is his own man, doesn't [seem to] worry about what others think and to the naked eye has led a pretty normal bachelor lifestyle (average job, small flat in London, lots of holidays with the spare money from not having a family etc etc). Growing up I always wondered why he was a bachelor but now I can see he has a thoughtful, and introverted nature, which has probably held in back in the same way I feel held back. I see in him something of a kindred spirit, and I'm really pleased that at last he has found a steady relationship. At the same time the mystified reaction of my grandmother is both funny and kind of tragic. Anyway, I just think that after worrying so much about being worried about my own relationship status being examined, for my grandmother to let slip her feelings about my until-now-FA uncle to me of all people, is quite funny.