The Mid Life Dating Files 2025

Who are your favorite people to be around?

My Favorite People (a.k.a. My Built-In Comedy Tour)

Who are my favorite people to be around?

My family. Obviously.

They are my content creators, my unpaid cast members, my travel companions, and—most importantly—my walking, talking evidence file. Because if there are no pictures, did it even happen? And if it did happen, you better believe I documented it.

I don’t just attend family functions.

I observe.

I collect data.

I gather receipts.

I am basically the Pink Panther with Wi-Fi.

Exhibit A: Why They’re My Favorites

They’re my favorite people because I can be 100% myself around them. No filters. No pretending. Just eye rolls, sarcasm, and public debates over who parked crooked.

We have a rhythm. A flow. A “this is just how we are” understanding.

The synchronized family eye roll? Olympic level. The sarcastic commentary from Dad? A live stand-up show, free of charge. Janeto’s running commentary on food, parking, traffic, temperature, lighting, table placement, and atmospheric pressure? Consistent. Reliable. Legendary. And me? Sitting strategically between my parents like a referee at a prize fight, practicing what I call Parental Arrangement Guidance.

Which is a fancy way of saying:

“I sit in the middle so nobody gets voted off the island.”

The Google Receipts Department

Let’s talk about my most important role.

I am the Archivist.

When Mom says, “I did NOT say that,” I don’t argue. I don’t raise my voice.

I simply unlock my phone.

“Actually… on March 17th at 4:42 p.m., you texted—”

And then I present the Google receipts.

Document. Document. Document.

You think I take pictures for memories?

No ma’am. I take pictures for evidence.

Vacation Mode: Activated Chaos

Our cruises.

Our beach trips.

Our ski adventures.

And the legendary summers at the river house.

If you’ve never partied at a river house with my family, you haven’t fully lived.

We had boats pulling up like it was a waterfront block party. People came by land. People came by water. Some came for the food. Some came for the fun. Some stayed longer than they probably should have.

There was:

Cooking out Drinking Swimming Boating Singing (loudly and off-key) Gossiping (professionally) And laughing so hard you needed a recovery day

There were also a few “spirited discussions.”

And by spirited, I mean…

There were spirits involved.

Some people may or may not have been invited back.

We’re still unclear on the details.

It remains under family review.

My Bartending Era

Somewhere along the way, I became the family bartender.

Now listen, I measure with my heart.

Sometimes that works out beautifully.

Sometimes that explains the arguments that followed.

Coincidence?

We’ll never know.

The Real Reason

But here’s the truth underneath all the sarcasm and side-eyes:

They’re my favorite because I can laugh at them and at myself at the same time.

There’s no walking on eggshells.

No pretending to be polished.

No rehearsed conversations.

Just real life. Loud life. Slightly dramatic life.

And the stories?

Oh, the stories.

I’m stockpiling them.

One day I’ll pass them down so everyone can experience what I’ve experienced—

the stomach cramps from laughing too hard,

the chaos of a family dinner,

the debates over directions when GPS is clearly wrong (but also somehow right),

and the joy of being completely known and still completely loved.

So yes.

My favorite people are the ones I’m around all the time.

The ones who give me material.

The ones who tolerate my documenting.

The ones who keep life interesting.

I’m just over here taking notes like the Pink Panther…

because these stories are way too good not to share.

And trust me—

I’ve got plenty more where that came from.