Can I Label You Now?

While I'm not even close to being at a stage to call anyone my boyfriend, I have a few friends that are at that awkward stage in their relationship where they have to have the dreaded DTR conversation.  Yes, they feel like it's time to define the relationship.  Are we dating?  Are we exclusively dating?  Are you my boyfriend/girlfriend?  Do we go live with this on Facebook?  Can I tweet about it?

So many questions.

You see all these movies or TV shows where the guy takes the female protagonist to some event and introduces her as his girlfriend. Naturally, she is taken aback and has a conversation with her friends like, "I didn't know he thought of me like that.  We've never discussed it!"  Secretly, though, she's written in her diary the week before how the ambiguity of the non-relationship is giving her heart palpitations and is going through various scenarios in her head on how she can bring in up "casually."

Those conversations are not easy to have.  I've been lucky in that regard, since I usually find someone I like to hang out with and it just evolves into a relationship, which sort of defines itself.  I like the simplicity of that, the natural agreement to be exclusive - there isn't a push and pull to it.  I've never had to guess where I stand and if I did, I would probably be a puddle of self-doubt and confusion and annoy all my friends. 

I'm not even sure how I would broach the topic.  I am, as I have said before, a chicken.  I would be completely incapable of talking.  I would stutter, start and stop and then probably give up.  (Confrontation isn't my strong suit.)  I would go on about my life in this are we or aren't we limbo until he says something.  And if he never said anything?  Well, as much as I'd say I would just move on or be spurred to action, I would probably just be all romantic and hopeful that we would somehow work out and be together until the end of time.  *Cut to him getting married to another chick*

Maybe there is something to this whole "definition" thing.  I've never been one to label anything, but I can understand and appreciate that some people need that definitive statement from the person they are seeing.  It makes it easier to know where you are going, if you know what exactly you are.

~j