Holly Sands finds herself in the midst of an engagement and baby boom.
Lately, I’ve begun to believe they must be putting something in the mocktails in Abu Dhabi. I can hardly sign into Facebook, open an email or read a Whatsapp without being greeted with the minute-by-minute breakdown of an acquaintance’s engagement, wedding or conception (well, not quite so much detail on the latter…). It seems matrimony and procreation has never been more in the air, and though I am unequivocally thrilled for each of them, I can’t help feeling like I’m being left trailing in their wake.
I know I’m far from being the only one to have viewed the UAE as something of a Neverland, where we could all just have our bills included in our rent forever and never have to learn how to manage our finances like grown ups. A place where we never had to learn to cook and fend for ourselves, with hundreds of restaurants waiting to deliver us a square meal, all for the price of a return bus ticket in some other countries.
If this is Neverland though, then I must be Tinkerbell, the spinster fairy watching on the sidelines as Peter Pan and Wendy waltz off into the sunset.
I used to get invited to brunches, now the only major gatherings on my calendar are baby showers. Still, at least the food is good and there’s loads of it (you won’t find the brides-to-be jostling for room at the buffet table). It’s that thought I cling to as I prepare for another game of ‘guess the baby food in the nappy’ (if you don’t know, you don’t want to) and pretend I’m not worried about who I will find to talk to about something other than flower arrangements and birthing partners.
But it’s by dutifully attending some of these events that I come by stories which go some way to reminding me to enjoy my unmarried status while I can. Tales of paying for Dhs50,000 honeymoons on top of the wedding itself, the military operation required to fly family members around the world for hen weekends and stag parties, not to mention for the big day, and negotiating the tantrums of friends who aren’t allowed to bring their plus ones or their kids.
At least if I put all thoughts of marriage to the back of my mind for a while, I’ll buy myself a bit more time to pull together the eye-watering amount of cash required. Right now my savings probably couldn’t get me a taxi to Abu Dhabi International Airport, let alone two weeks full-board in the Seychelles. In the meantime, put me down for all the baby showers you can find – Tinkerbell may as well get a few more square meals out of this boom.
Holly Sands is a Time Out features editor. She’s the only woman in Abu Dhabi not wearing a ring.
