So now I have taken this break and begun to clean. The first sign of major change. I'm not talking about doing dishes here. I'm talking about getting down and dirty. Women clean just before their life changes and the baby comes. We clean just before we crawl in the tub and pull the trigger, and we clean just before someone dies. It's our way. It's preparing for the inevitable. It's the cleaning up of our past before we can see the future clearly. It's the warped mentality of not leaving the mess of our discontent behind. Of not making another bear our burdens and have to look at our past. It's the washing of the dead bodies preparing them for burial.
Men turn cold. The looks and words that freeze you to your soul. So hard and so fast that it make you immobile. But if you can break past that and see the sun shining through the windows.....it makes the dirt all the more noticeable doesn't it girls? It's why women chop their hair off into new sassy hair cuts and drop 15 pounds after the divorce. It's why we throw everything on the lawn with a "make me an offer" sign. It's the lightning of the load. The exposing, yet again, to others and ourselves to our endless possibilities. It's recognizing these gifts for ourselves. For how can others acknowledge it unless we are able to?
And so maybe that is what we are doing here. Waiting for someone to make us an acceptable offer. Not so bad really. But not so great either. Is it wrong to want the exceptional? Or at least what would be exceptional to us as individuals. I don't want someone just to "have someone". I couldn't give a shit what anyone else thinks of me and my choice to be single or part of a couple. I couldn't have pulled it off for this long if it worried me. Again, let's go for a bit of honesty. Take a look in your email box.....how many have you got in there? A couple hundred? A thousand? All knocking at your door, all thinking your the ONE. Like there is only one certain soul on this earth that can complete us. What are you going to do? Respond to each of them with hope and perhaps even a bit of anxiety? Or are you like me and you can weed through 50 of them without seeing a possability? It's not that I'm overly jaded (or maybe I am) and maybe I'm expecting way too much out of a first, second, twentieth letter. Maybe it's the writer in me that is looking for the right words to stop me dead in my tracks.
It's the heavy stuff that puts me off I think. Don't make me go into details, this blog(s) are going on much longer than they should as it is. But every once in a while I find one that makes me smile, snicker or even laugh until I wheeze a bit. And those are the ones that I click reply on faster than you can blink. And then the game begins. Once a man has gotten me to respond, he's got an opportunity to show me what he's got. What he's made of. Stick your wallet in your pocket. Put the pictures of your kids back on the mantle. Let's not talk about past relationships right away unless you have learned something profound that has changed the way you view the world and your place in it. It's you baby. It's you I'm looking at right now. Nothing else. Because if you are looking at someone for more than just flirty fun, in the end, your going to be spending a great deal of time together. You had best spend some time figuring each other out.
I've mentioned this before, but I was married for 9 years and that man never had a clue as to what my true passion was. And my one online relationship, he never knew either. Why? He never asked. See? If I'm interested in you, I'm going to want to know what your shooting for. I don't plan on treading water with someone while we both try to doggy paddle to the other side of life. I plan on being their support system, their motivator, giving them the knowledge that they are never alone and that they have my support. And that's what I'm looking for in return. But how can you ever do that if you never even freaking ASK what their destination is?
But I also don't believe in advertising your soul to the world. There has to be some way to weed out the gawkers from the participants. And maybe it's the ones who have the guts to ask the hard questions at the right time that are the ones ready for the long haul. The realists that understand that the fantasy is only that, that a real person resides behind that picture. They laugh, they eat, they play, they weep. And I think it's the ones that ask the real questions that I don't mind seeing me with my shoulders shaking when I'm laughing. That I don't have to cover my face when the tears roll. That I don't have to wait until the lights are turned off to say the hard stuff. The scary stuff. For fear of how they will react.
So I finally really have turned cold. I now read an email and if it's not someone I'm interested in...I send a nice reply and then block them. Done. Fini. I do realize that they are potential friends. But baby, I'm not keeping up with the whole friends thing as it is. Pammy called me and I just about fell over. Within 30 second we were chattering like a couple of squirrels. And to be honest, if it weren't for the darn phone poking into my neck, it was like we were right next to each other. Like we had been best friends for years and I knew at that moment that I wanted her in my life for good. She lets me run wild. She lets me come back tired, scraggly and full of stories of my adventures. She doesn't freak when I don't write her back for two weeks. She love me. And now I search for that kind of bond with a man. That acceptance and firm knowledge in knowing that solid relationship is always right there behind me just waiting for me to turn around. And yeah, I'm willing to be his brick wall too. His army of one always willing to help him fight for what he's striving for.
So in conclusion of this long winded narrative, online dating blows the big kazoo. That maybe it's not that we have to lower our standards to find the right one, just be more realistic. All I know is that while I am still floundering in this waste land, the rest of my life tools on without a hitch. The uphill climbs only strengthening my body and mind for the next adventure in life. That the gold nuggets I found while digging around in the mud here have become another brick in my foundation for the future. Friends and relationships that have stood the test of time. That we have walked through the grave yards together, held hands through pregnancy scares, and wiped more than a few tears off of each others faces. Those few souls that I have let into my inner sanctuary. Not the pen pals, but the few that I would catch a plane for tomorrow if they needed me. And they know who they are. So I have found love online. Just maybe not the kind I came looking for.
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read more blogs!
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Blogs by LaughTillYaPuke:
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kattsmeow

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May 5 @ 6:48PM
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The realists that understand that the fantasy is only that, that a real person resides behind that picture. They laugh, they eat, they play, they weep. And I think it's the ones that ask the real questions that I don't mind seeing me with my shoulders shaking when I'm laughing. That I don't have to cover my face when the tears roll. That I don't have to wait until the lights are turned off to say the hard stuff. The scary stuff. For fear of how they will react.
Those words right there explain the hardest thing for a person to let another person see.
Yes, he told me he didn't care if i wore a granny gown instead of a fancy one. yes, he told me he didn't care if I wore makeup.
What I wanted ti know and hear was could I trust him with my heart and my soul? Could I be me?
The answers came and even this last week, he proved it to me.
He is my rock. I have his back.
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suzzieq356

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May 5 @ 6:54PM
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Thank you for the peek inside your awesome mind!
~*~
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mystery2u888

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May 5 @ 7:25PM
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Ohhh my little gf....never surprises me......... great blog sweetie.... xoxo
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fenderchick

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May 5 @ 8:32PM
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Everytime I need to stop because I'm thinking too much, I get almost anal about cleaning, to the point where it's so shiny you can see your reflection, and that's the cupboards
Nice blog again
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cartay25

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May 5 @ 8:40PM
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Awesome blog (all 3 parts). It doesn't take long online to realize it's not as easy as they show on TV. You don't get an email, answer it and find your perfect match in a week.
It takes time, heart and a lot of soul searching to admit to yourself who you are looking for and a lot of personal strength to admit you made a mistake and move on as you weed thru the profiles.
I have come to realize that the friends I have made along the way mean much more to me than finding a soulmate.
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oceanlover734

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May 5 @ 8:55PM
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Women clean just before their life changes and the baby comes Yeah we do! So now I understand why the hell I do that . Another great blog. ~*~
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BlueManCube

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May 5 @ 9:04PM
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feel better?
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equuisdancer

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May 5 @ 9:04PM
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If I'm interested in you, I'm going to want to know what your shooting for. I don't plan on treading water with someone while we both try to doggy paddle to the other side of life. I plan on being their support system, their motivator, giving them the knowledge that they are never alone and that they have my support. And that's what I'm looking for in return. But how can you ever do that if you never even freaking ASK what their destination is?
And hopefully you get the answer you're looking for!
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equuisdancer

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May 5 @ 9:09PM
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Drat that didn't go in a quote box!
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JimNastics

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May 5 @ 9:10PM
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Nice conclusion. To the special people known as friends.
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GenuineHarleyGirl

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May 5 @ 9:25PM
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Wow..this was a truly heartfelt blog..Just wanted to thank you for sharing your insights...
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dallas1995

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May 5 @ 9:29PM
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yep...some days are like that and then again...some days ain't
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sciurusniger

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May 5 @ 9:38PM
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Funny, just the other day I was thinking about how hard it can be to find that real "other half". The one person, the yin to the yang to complete a small symbolic circle, who can love you as strongly and openly as you love them, no matter what. And wondering just what the odds are that you will find them at one, single site like this? I mean, what if they signed up at another one and there you are, both waiting for that one special and significant email to hit your Inbox?
Yet, the flip side is we get what we need. And if it's "that time", well, you're both going to be in the right place at that time. The trick is to recognize them when they appear, for souls aren't always packaged exactly the way we might expect in our hazy imaginations.
I think you, among a few others here, "get it". And I love that you put it out there with such honest grace and a few grins thrown in just for good measure.
My advice? Based on personal experience, dear heart, "write it, and he will come."
Kudos.
~*~
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wiggly

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May 5 @ 9:52PM
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I've always envied those who could write there thoughts to paper fluently almost without pause great blog's When your house is clean and there is nothing left to do, when biting the bullet seems to be the most painful last step you make before taking that leap of faith you so desire you pause stop and rewind to watch it all happen again in slow motion, So you Are the Author of your own life what will you write next ! What will you make Your destination !
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Gemologist57

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May 5 @ 9:55PM
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Surgery dark-and-early tomorrow for the umpteenth time since April Fools Day - Fitting Right (?) - more in the weeks to come... Hop on the plane, I need You! Only Kidding - Well sort of anyway...
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pamdemonium

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May 6 @ 10:09AM
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Women clean, men turn cold. Online dating blows the big one. All true statements. I have also found love online. Not the kind I came here for, either. But no less real, no less close to my heart.
You had best spend some time figuring each other out. You can only hope they let you.
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misschoos

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May 6 @ 10:24AM
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It's why women chop their hair off into new sassy hair cuts and drop 15 pounds after the divorce. You should have seen my children's faces one day when I arrived home with my hair an inch long all over, from being half way down my back that very morning.
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theblessedone

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May 6 @ 11:01AM
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More than 6 years (give or take) spent on dating sites. More than 100 face-to-face meetings. No fewer than 10 of those "significant" online-only encounters. More personal realizations than I (almost) care to recount. More insight into the madness of the game, men, women, life, and the world than I ever expected.
Four weeks from today, I'm marrying one man...one, out of more than 100. More compromises than I thought I would be willing to make. More differences than I thought I could endure. More challenges than answers, some days.
More love than I had ever hoped for.
Wonderful, honest blogs. The Real Stuff. Life.
~*~
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imlost2

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May 6 @ 11:15AM
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Since there is 33 million people in the USA, not to mention perhaps if you live outside the country, finding Mr. or Mrs. Right for you, might be a chore, having said that, out of so many, I'm sure they are out there.
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EternalFlame

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May 6 @ 4:50PM
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~*~
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lj450

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May 6 @ 6:06PM
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Longwindedness.
Is best left to the bedroom.
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redtigr

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May 6 @ 10:03PM
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Hmmm... I've been trying this on-line thing for nearly five years. Your title reminded me of one of my earliest and most demeaning experiences.
I spent three months listening to a man go from one extreme to the other; from charming and sensitive to belligerent asshole and indifferent jerk - all via phone while making excuses not to meet. When we finally met - he turned out to be just bizarre - interesting? yes, but full of deceit and anger. When I finally had had enough, I said to him "This is nothing but a game to you." To which he replied " That's right - it's all a game - everyone does it and you should just accept it."
No. No! He made me realize that I didn't see dating as "a game."
Perhaps it's just my serious style, but nothing about seeking a mate in my fifties reminds me of a game. I'm not interested in bluffing, pretending, false hopes or following someone else's rules.
And so maybe that is what we are doing here. Waiting for someone to make us an acceptable offer. Not so bad really. But not so great either. Is it wrong to want the exceptional? Or at least what would be exceptional to us as individuals. I don't want someone just to "have someone". Me neither. I've no interest in suffering fools or spending precious time with incompatible men.
You're young enough yet, and beautiful - and you'll be inundated with offers. The men are going to be drooling after you for the next several years. You can afford to be very selective, and you should be. Seek out the one who suits you, who gets you, who loves you with abandon - from the inside out.
And beware. In my experience the more charming they are in the beginning, the less you can believe you are seeing the man inside. So... yes. Cold calculation is necessary. Because before you know it you'll be fifty-something.
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grumblebear

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May 7 @ 3:34AM
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Acceptance...
So much of life can be seen in how people speak of their lives... How much they accept as part or all of their responsibility, shows how much they invest into their life, and the lives of those around them...
In my own life, and failed relationships, I have a large share of the responsibilities, but no regrets... Would I do it all again? yep, and probably repeat the same mistakes.... but these events have shaped who I am.... and are a large part of who I am
I am proud to think of you as one of the most interesting people I have met... I hope you're around for a very long time, You have much to teach and share...
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j_goose

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May 8 @ 8:27PM
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Meem....you know what I think about your words. Not many can grab my attention in the way that you do. Thank you.
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