Female: Female

Always happens. Put three straight women, married or otherwise attached and a gossip session happens. Whether it is the sad state of the house when you come back from work and he has got home early enough to randomly throw socks around the living room. Or it is about the difficulty of finding decent clothes and shoes. About the need to work hard and also therefore play hard and spend time relaxing. About doing the next course, job application of fill tax returns and figure out the CGT. About not having enough shoes, or about the laziness of the husband / man around the house.
It starts with standing around in the kitchen, or sipping cups of tea, or near the car while the men discuss the new computer, iPod touch or whatever new technology catches their fantasy while you get the time away from his ears to moan about life in general.

We women dont moan, we just discuss things, men dont get this point of cribbing without REALLY wanting anything to change. We talk to other women, who will shake their heads and within 3 minutes tell you a similar instance that happened to them or someone they know. Its oddly comforting!

So, a few of us were sitting and talking about plans for Christmas and how things have changed post marriage, now that we are supposed to divide our time between our own parents and the in-laws who would also like to see us. The need to see where the man stands on the issue and how we would really like things to be, to the extent of what we would expect from the would be wives of our would be sons, should we decide to give into parental pressure and produce off springs.

The talk extended to useless gifts received by all of us at some point of time from well meaning relations of the husband. It then went on to how all spouses think we do have too many material possessions and how we always went shopping too often.

Then we spoke to this mother to be who is one of us, and she moaned about the traditions of not buying anything new in anticipation of the new baby as it acts as a temptation to evil things. So she can buy nothing till the baby is born, she is actually DYING to stop at Gap and Mothercare and buy tonnes of stuff. Once the little on pops she will be in no shape to go shopping alone and wander around looking and sighing at stuff. So we, the female gang, have decided to take her shopping and hide the goodies and then spring them on her as a surprise when the little on arrives.

Another one of us hopes to take up a job which her in-laws are not too keen for her to do. Left in a limbo she does not know what to do. She is applying anyways, if she gets it, she shall figure out how to go about doing it.

Yet another one needs to go using her credit card till it sizzles with heat of being swiped for Christmas goodies for her new in-law family. She is wondering how she will cope.

Another one was talking about needing to make small talk to wives of her husband's friends, most of who are airheads and think about nothing but gym and shopping. And of course comparing kids and the classes they attend.

The girlie in the group wants to move town and take her only too willing boyfriend along, but his mates have an issue with that and call him all kinds of names, some not so polite, for being ok to move with her to a new life.

So we moaned, we bitched, ate some chocolate cake, drank some tea, thought about work and problems, about careers and husbands, shopping and the approaching festive season. Got it all off our chests and went back to our men. Who, none the wiser, were pleased to see us looking de-stressed and smiley. Yes we do come from another planet.