Oh, Just Pull the Trigger Already!

So… I said back in November that it was time to start dating again. And it probably was!

But I didn’t.

It’s the holidays, I thought. Let’s get through that first. Then I was down in Del Boca Vista for a couple of weeks visiting the ‘rents. Too busy playing shuffleboard and eating dinner at 4:30 to meet anyone not eligible for Social Security. And then work got crazy. So I didn't make the time. Then the drain in my tub clogged. I couldn’t possibly start dating with my world in such chaos.

I’m just delaying the inevitable. Procrastinating. Wasting time. You know it, I know it too.

It’s like when you put off making a dentist appointment, which incidentally, I also need to do because I don’t want my teeth to rot inside my head. Similarly, I also do not want to die alone with 14 cats gnawing at my remains. I don’t like cats at all! Especially when they are nibbling my face off.

So, to avoid this grisly fate, I reactivated my profile on Eharmony. Closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. I freshened up a few photos. I updated a few phrases. I dusted off my requirements. And I shelled out $240 to join for a year (yep – you read that right – aren’t you glad you don’t have to do this anymore?).

I chose this site over Match – for now – because it’s like dipping my pinky toe back into the dating pool. There’s a whole communication process you have to go through first that seems less intimidating to me than jumping right into meeting a total stranger for drinks. We all remember how that goes. 

I’m not quite ready for that. Yet.

You might be surprised to hear that I'm giving online dating another chance. But at my advanced age, there are few options for meeting new people. Plus, I still do believe the process can work! I just met the wrong guy. And I suppose, he met the wrong girl. It’s astonishing to me, looking back at how much I put up with. So regardless of the guy I date next -- or the guy after that, or the guy after THAT -- my own personal mission is not to compromise what’s important.

To get as good as I give.

I still believe I can find that guy who will be my best friend. Who will have my back, as I have his. Who will adore me -- quirks and all. Who I can trust will say what he means, and mean what he says. And who I can call before I fall asleep and he’ll know it’s me -- not from the caller ID, but by the sound of my voice.

He’s out there, I think. I hope! And if he’s not... don’t anybody let me buy a cat.


tags: dating