I decided to escape to the city this past week when my home lost power due to Hurricane Sandy, where I stayed with a good friend of mine who was off from school as a result of the power outage affecting lower Manhattan. We spent the week in her Upper East Side apartment lounging, catching up on missed Real Housewives episodes and discovering new restaurants all the while comparing relationship and dating stories.
She is recently single and the newest member of the online dating world, which made for hours of conversation. She asked about my past dates and I gave her a play by play of some of the most memorable. I didn’t hold back in hopes of giving her an accurate picture of what may lie ahead of her. I watched her cringe at some of my mortifying and painful stories but smile at others as she got excited at the potential of what this adventure may hold for her.
When out to dinner one night at one of the most adorable and delicious Italian restaurants I have ever been to in the city, I heard myself talking and realized I don’t think I could run out of dates to tell. This idea scared me. But when I shared this fear with her she told me how she wished that was the case with her.
“What?!?” I asked totally confused and convinced she was just trying to make me feel better.
“Now when you find the one, you can know that you have been in a few serious relationships and also experienced the world of dating. Those are both incredibly valuable experiences that I think, ultimately, will prepare you to be ready when you meet “the one”.”
Was she right? Was I dating? Obviously I have been going out on dates but I never before thought of it as the act of dating we see on TV shows and in the movies – the act of meeting and sifting through numerous guys in hopes of finding the one. How could this not have occurred to me? I guess, sometimes, it takes a friend to point out the seemingly obvious.
So it’s true. Im dating. I am actively dating. People. Not one person. I’m not in a relationship, Im dating. It’s genius.
