This may sound odd, but I’m not “hoping” for anything at all with this, except friendship. My purpose in getting together is to have a good time, and that is my only “expectation.” To say there is no pressure is a huge understatement. I’m hoping that feeling is mutual, because I truly don’t have the time (or even more important, the desire) to spend on anything more right now. I’m too “into” my own stuff (and having a blast I might add).

All but one of the men I’ve dated since being divorced have been focused on getting married, sometimes as soon as possible. A few have even said they weren’t complete if they weren’t half of a couple. I don’t understand that thinking and knew immediately I was NOT the one for them.

One of the morning radio talk shows today posed the question to listeners, “How soon after you began dating your husband/wife did you tell the person you loved them?” The answers were astounding. Many (mostly men) waited very little time at all (one was only 3 weeks). He said they’d been married for 26 years now, so I guess he knew it was right.

But I’ve experienced that too, more than once. The last two guys I dated waited barely a month before expressing “love and forever.” And my thought was the same each time: “You don’t know me, how can you love me?”

I read an interesting article the other day, about how men think about these things. One of the paragraphs talked about a man who had been with his girlfriend for almost three years. She was ready to settle down and he wasn’t, so they parted ways. Six months later, his life was more “in order” with a better job, most of his friends had married, etc., so he proposed to and married his current girlfriend. The point of the paragraph was, “Women think about settling down when they find the “right” man. Men think about settling down with whomever they are with, when things in their life are “right.” Interesting.

Thanks again ladies. You’re all gems!

Whirlwind