Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Simple Rules Edition

Seven Rules for Dating Destiny, now that I’m online dating (eek!).

1. Thou shalt not reveal anything sexually about yourself on (or before) the first date that you would not tell your mother…or at least your best friend from college. Seriously, keep that shit to yourself until, say, I know more about you than what your favorite band is.Image

2. Thou absolutely positively shall not ever, never, tell me that you love me on the first date. Creepy to the nth degree, I don’t care how much of a romantic you are…

3. Thou shalt not even think about making me feel guilty for not rounding the bases before I am ready. I am wearing my “chastity belt” (unshaven legs) for a reason…deal with it.

4. Thou shalt respect the fact that I have children, that they are of utmost importance in my life, and that perhaps you should ask about them on occasion instead of ignoring that they exist.

5. If thoust want a response to your profile after thoust has checked out mine, send me an email with more than “hey…” And while we’re at it…if I have put myself out there by adding a few profile pics, you can add a few of your own. Don’t be a chickenshit.

6. Thou must understand that I am terrible at small talk…I will have revealed this before our date. So if thou can’t take the lead, then let’s do something action oriented, like putt-putt or bowling, where we can smack talk and have fun instead of staring at each other awkwardly over the dinner table.

7. Finally, don’t yell at me or otherwise talk down to me at any point during our budding relationship, because that will be the end of it right then and there. I went to a women’s college, I can stand up for myself.

I love you all, potentially one more than others…

Seasons Change and So Do I

ImageSo Sam has a new girl. And while I am wildly happy for him, I am also selfishly a little sad. Sad because whenever someone new is introduced, it always means there is a shift in a relationship. While I had been one of Sam’s primary sources of entertainment (and he mine) pretty much since we broke up last summer, there is now someone else who has his attention. I’m not jealous by any means—seeing him happy makes me happy—but I do have to confront this shift in our relationship from hanging out every time neither of us had the kids to me deliberately having to ask for Sam-time when I need it. Continue reading →

16 Reasons to Date a Single Mom Like Me

  1. We’ve got that nurturing thing down. Whether it be to dry a tear or just give a hug for no reason other than to say I love you, that quality is innate in us.
  2. You may not be as cool as Bon Jovi, but we’ll still be your biggest fan. (I take that back—your kids will probably take first prize for a little while, but then we’ll move into first place when puberty hits.)
  3. We don’t need grand romantic gestures. Snap a picture of a cool cloud or a pretty flower and text it to us just to let us know you think of us occasionally. Continue reading →

Seven Sentences for Sunday: The Quotable Quotes Edition

1. “Your breath smells like dog penis.” –Ez not so delicately telling me I needed to brush my teeth during story time.

2. “I was just trying to figure out which breed…perhaps a retriever from the plains of Minnesota.” –someone special upon smooching me hello, after I told him about Ez’s insult.

3. “Ez, why did you draw on your window with cheetos and oreos?” “Because I’m an artist.” –Ez.

4. “Mom, I got stung by a jellyfish and it hurt. REALLY bad.”–J, checking in from the beach.

5. I found some love notes that Sam wrote me when we were dating. I won’t quote them, but I will say that even though I am glad to have him as a bestie, a tiny wee little part of me misses the romance. Water under the bridge.

6. “I used to be love drunk, but now I’m hungover…”—Boys Like Girls in one of my favorite lyrics ever.

7. “But of all these friends and lovers, there is no one who compares with you….” The Beatles, in a song that I’ve sung to J since the day she was born. It still makes me tear up.

I love you all, some more than others.

**Bonus 8. For those of you in the Cincinnati area, consider coming out next weekend to support the 21st annual Cincy Blues Fest. It’s an awesome time with national and international acts. Sawyer Point, Friday and Saturday. Be there! More info at http://cincybluesfest.org

The Queen of Hearts and the King of All Fools

King and Queen of Hearts My Ideal

Last night Sam and I went down to Party in the Park, Cincinnati’s summer soiree that happens every Wednesday night where folks gather to drink beer and listen to live music. We started talking about potential mates, and I noted that there wasn’t a single man there within my age range. I might as well wait until I’m 45 to have some sort of romantic social life. He tried to disagree with me, but I pointed out the thirty-somethings that were there had never been married and were not looking to date a divorced mom of three. Those who might not be opposed to a relationship with a single mom were in their fifties and were looking more for someone in their mid- forties with older children. Again, not in my spectrum of possible partners. Sam begrudgingly agreed that the pickings were slim, but insisted that 45 seems like an awful long time to wait for that special someone to steal my heart. Perhaps he has a point, but I wouldn’t be opposed to waiting that long for the right someone. Continue reading →

Like the Down of a Thistle

Last night I had some wicked crazy dreams, so much so that I woke up with a bunch of ideas for a blog topic. My head swimming, I tried to narrow one down as I checked into my Facebook to tap my social media vein. I scrolled through my feed, looking at cute baby pictures, laughing at my lawyer friend’s posts, which always crack me up, and suddenly stopped at a college friend’s status. She had chosen today to break her silence about her fight with breast cancer and asked for prayers and positive thoughts for both her and her family as they all struggle to support her through this difficult time.  Continue reading →

Respect the Ebb

It has been a thunderstormy kind of day. We’ve had two big ones pass through, much to my delight. In my book, there are few things better than a mid-summer thunderstorm; they often make me dig deep and think about my life. But I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, perhaps too much. So I enjoyed the storms, watched the clouds clip by as the rain fell, and tried not to think so much. Continue reading →

Love What You Do, and Do It

This morning I had a meeting with a well-known publisher of one of Cincinnati’s preeminent magazines. I had done due diligence and picked up the magazine to browse through before my meeting to try and familiarize myself with exactly what I was getting myself into…after all, I was applying for a position that is normally reserved for underpaid twenty-somethings and here I am a thirty-something with specific needs to keep my family afloat. But it was an in into an industry where I want to grow and thrive, so I donned my suit instead of my normal work attire of jeans and a tee and prepared to put forth the best representation of myself. Continue reading →