Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

Craigslist Dating, Take Two

Author: thenicknick

It was January 24, a good month after I decided I needed a break from this dating thing.  S and I were still doing this on again/off again thing.  (And it seems so distant, I really have to read my journal entries to remember why we had such difficulties.  So, I’m going to go with the belief that he was fighting the inevitable.)  I was about to go out with Donna and a group of friends for the night.  There’s something about getting dressed to go out that makes me especially fiesty.  Suddenly I felt compelled to do it again.

I can’t find the copy I made of that post.  Wish I could.  The writing was more than decent.  Here’s what I remember:

Fighting my Fears, Determined to Date

I believe in facing my fears head on, which would explain why despite a fear of heights, I went parasailing and why I’m now posting an online dating ad.  I discovered I really enjoyed parasailing.  The jury is still out on dating.

Then I followed it with the usual disclaimer (I have kids and an almost ex-husband.  Yada yada yada.)  And I followed it with a description of myself, but no picture.  (Remember, I am not photogenic.)  My email was anonymized, and the post published.

The response was great, mostly quality, only one picture of a tighty whitey clad weenie.  And so I once again went through the sorting process.  I was learning.  I was focused.  I was disinterested.  Somehow, it was the act itself that was thrilling, not the prospect of actually meeting someone, trying to bond, weed out the bs.

This time, after a series of emails, one man did strike my interest.  He was a father of three girls who worked in the IT field.  His kids lived in Atlanta and were around only a couple of weekends a month.  He was a few years older than I was, which kind of seemed like a nice change of pace. 

So, we started talking on the phone.  The conversations were great, no awkward silences, no misunderstandings.  He was flirty and funny.  Soon, I began to think it might have a hint of promise.  He was devoted, emailing and texting and calling every night.  The more we talked, the more complimentary he became.  And there is nothing a woman finds more appealing than a man who finds her…I believe his exact word was ‘amazing.’ 

We talked about meeting for the first time to watch the Super Bowl together somewhere, but I already had plans with the kids, Jay and Spring.  So, we were going to do dinner one night that week.  All was well.

On that Saturday before the Super Bowl, I received a text at nine at night from S.  He was at Chucke E. Cheese with some of our friends playing skeeball.  And next thing you know, so was I.  It was our game, filled with happy beach trip memories.  Then, while I was shooting scarab beetles and mummies with him by my side, he popped the question.  (Not that question, silly!)

S: I’m done that job I was working on.

me: I know.

S: I’m going to Miami to see a friend.

me: Uh huh.

S: We always talked about going together.

me, trying to concentrate on shooting, but seriously wondering where this was going: I remember.

S: Come with me.

And that is why poor Marshall was history.  No one has ever stood a chance against S.  No one.  I’ve had options.  The problem is that I only have room in my heart for him.  We fit.  We’re meant to be.

Months later, when we finally worked out the whole moving in together thing, S made one simple request: You’ll stop posting ads on Craigslist?

Maybe he thought it was this huge concession I was making.  Hah.  My response: Absolutely.

Sorry, Craigslist.  I’m off the market.

Tags: dating, online dating, relationships, romance

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under A Single Girl's Guide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.