Love of my Life

I’m avoiding the packing that I should be doing as the moving truck comes tomorrow. My room looks like I’m not going anywhere. So I am posting to fill my time. My iPod is tuned to all slow songs, making me really contemplate my current dating situation — or lack thereof. Erykah Badu’s Love of my Life is playing on the iPod. This sounds a lot like my life. I’ve been saying for years, “He’s just a friend,” but now things are changing.

I’m a single girl, still living at home with my family, degree under my belt, and freelance writing. I don’t pay for anything, yet I have debt … shame on me! My friends got married the same year I graduated (2010), another couple got married last year when my cousin had a baby, and my eldest cousin just tied the knot this past June.

Up until my grad, love was the furthest thing from my mind. (Education first … discipline is the thing!) Now it seems like it’s swirling all around me. At first I was ducking and dodging, weaving and bobbing. But now, I want something to hit me! One thing that seems to be the trend is that these couples (2 out of 3) had a baby first — or as I like to say, they got caught! — then they got married. Is that the norm for attracting a man these days? Do I have to “put out” to even be considered? That’s not the route I wish to go; that’s not the way I was brought up; that’s not what I am going to do. The saying “desperate times call for desperate measures” comes to mind. All of the couples are older than me, so maybe they could feel their eggs expiring.

So now I am taking serious inventory of who is left. Did I mention all of these couples and myself attend the same church? And another male-friend of mine showed up last Sunday with his two-week-old baby. There’s something going on with the church kids (not setting such a great example, in my opinion) but that’s another post.

Now I’m listening to Dionne Warwick croon Don’t Make Me Over. I love this song as it says so much about a relationship. But I digress …

I read somewhere that for every single man out there, there are 7 single ladies vying for his attention. So pretty much if you don’t want him someone will surely scoop him up. Even in my church: it’s full of women! And when a new male visitor comes in, you can watch the heads turn. It’s amusing and distressing at the same time.

So back to the love of my life who is just a friend. I’m trying to gauge his interest, but he is very reserved. Maybe it’s because we have known each other for so many years, he’s practically family. Or maybe it’s because he’s a few years older than I am. But I’m trying feverishly to “crack his shell” and open his eyes to the possibilities, especially since I can see the sharks circling and they smell blood in the water! I will keep you posted. Wish me luck!

I need to get back to the packing … and strategizing!!!

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