As someone who dates both women and men, I assure you everyone of every gender has become very thin skinned, with very low threshold for challenging feelings, little grit. It’s not just men. The amount of “processing” between women is mind boggling and soul-sucking.

I too grew up with grandparents that took each other in playful stride, and I think it’s made all the difference in the health and stability of my relationships— because what I should realistically expect of them and myself was so well modeled. After all, expectations are just premeditated resentments, so you have to choose them wisely.