Cataloged thoughts on Thought Catalog

Hello, Reader of Really Most Sincerely! I didn’t write this article below. I just made a bunch of comments on it. I figured it would make for easier reading to paste it all in and link back to the original. Enjoy! 

6 Reasons it’s hard to date a single mom 

I’ve heard a lot of guys talk about dating single moms. It’s becoming all the more common in today’s world. And being one it has caught my attention. So here’s 6 reasons it’s hard to date a single mom.

1. You fall in love with her kids.

I hear this over and over again. The problem is when/if you break up you still love those kids, but have no ties to them. I’ve seen relationships from 3 to 8 years where the guys will never see the kids again. And it’s not fair to the man or the kids. It’s a risk.

Sheri: I’ve made the mistake of letting past boyfriends around my kids too soon, so I don’t have a ton to disagree with on this. I lived and learned. But I can tell you that I do have an ex whose kids I still see on the regular. I’m pretty grateful I get to maintain that relationship and so are those kids.  

2. You will never be number one.

Ever. Her kids will come first every single time. Or they should. And if they don’t? You don’t have a good woman.

Sheri: And if she had no kids, then you would be her number one? How about you get a deeper sense of self? 

3. She’s busy. Really busy.

Most single mom’s have 2 full-time jobs. When they aren’t working they are out at soccer games, dance classes, or parent-teacher conferences, and let’s not start with the mom’s who are still in school themselves. Finding time to fit in a relationship can be really difficult.

Sheri: Yes she is. Because she has a rich life. You should look into that, potential suitor. What’s infuriating, though, is that this article appears to be written by a woman. If this is the kind of guy who she’s dating (a guy who is easily upset that she has a limited schedule) it is time to tighten the filters. Trust me…when a man meets a woman he really wants to date, he will date her without whining about her schedule. He will simply plan ahead, communicate and hold up his end of the relationship.

4. In good situations there’s a baby daddy.

This one is hard to admit, but it’s true. As long as the father is still a part of the child’s life you will have to deal with him. And it’s not always a bad thing, in fact it shouldn’t be, but it’s a factor when men are thinking about dating a woman with a child.

Sheri: Oh…the woman you’re dating has a past? Pro-tip: they all do, not just the ones with children. 

5. Hello to a world of responsibility.

If you have your own kids or not you are taking on the responsibility of being a good role model for this woman’s children. Doesn’t matter if the baby’s dad is in the picture or not. When you are with her and her kids you need to be responsible. You need to be a father figure.

Sheri: Ahhhhhhh! Where do I start? First, you don’t need to be around her kids for any meaningful length of time for a WHILE. And when you do (think 6 months or a year or longer), you don’t need to be a father figure. You need to be a grown ass man. And you know who also likes grown ass men? Women without children. It’s a whole thing. If you are dating someone primarily seeking a father figure, turn on your heel and walk the other way. She’s not the grown ass woman you deserve.

6. It’s hard.

Relationships are hard. They say to have a healthy marriage to wait a year before having children. Now take that and date a woman who already has kids? You are looking at an even more complicated relationship with responsibility that in the beginning a normal couple doesn’t share. Those spontaneous, romantic dates? Maybe not as likely. But here’s the thing. It can also be really rewarding. Because dating a woman with children opens your eyes to what a wonderful woman she is. 

Sheri: I agree…relationships are hard. You know what isn’t hard? A website hiring an editor. 

Focus

Last Saturday I flipped open my laptop, stomped over to my Amazon wish list and purchased a new camera body. I’ve hemmed and hawed over a new body for YEARS. Last Saturday I’d had enough. My DSLR Rebel is 9 years old. I’ve shot tens of thousands of photos for the last decade. Hell, there are 3,000 on my iPhone at this very moment. I love photography. Fuck, Sheri. Buy the goddamned camera already. That’s kind of how that went. Thanks, MasterCard, for the heavy lifting.

A few hours later I got a message from a friend in Mountain View, CA, asking if I’d be interested in house/pet sitting for about 10 days. Um….DUH. I would just need to talk with work to be sure I could work virtually from the Bay Area. Because I am always reaching to the highest shelf in every life experience, I began scouring my brain for the larger benefit to the situation. 

I texted 4 or 5 friends in California letting them know I’d likely be there towards the end of June and seeking meetings in social tech, media and food. I texted a few friends here the same thing. I jumped onto the city of Mountain View’s parks and rec site to research camps (because of course I’d take the kids). I touched base with Expedia to get an idea on airfare. I started plotting days in my head. Weekend beach trip. Last Saturday at the Ferry Building Farmers Market. Meeting at Twitter. Chasing down that blogger and this magazine and whichever brands I could get my hands on. Who knows about any startups? I want to beta test my face off! My head was spinning like a top and buzzing with white noise.

My 2-3 early June music prospects had declined, so I all but abandoned Sheri’s Living Room for June. There was no time. 

I talked with my boss about the opportunity. Later in the week I got authorization for adventure.

On Friday I began taking all the factors into consideration. That day I also had 5 or 6 meetings, one of which was a lunch between the 5 past presidents of my Rotary club along with next year’s president. During lunch, Andy said something I’ve heard him say dozens of times in the 6 years I’ve known him:

Priorities are like arms. If you think you have more than two you’re crazy.

I’m sitting in a world of credit card debt, robust work load, volunteerism, personal life and parenthood. Each one of these aspects contain at least 5 unfinished projects that are grossly overdue. Except the credit cards…they get paid in a timely fashion (only because I hired a bookkeeper 6 months ago). Here I was looking to Add More Things.

I was crazy. 

On Friday night, still buzzing from the possibility of the trip, I stood in my kitchen making dinner. Spotify blared Joy Kills Sorrow as I diced a peeled sweet potato. I clearly felt the truth surfacing… stay home. I need to focus on the things important to me right now. Music. Peace. Seeing a few things through. I need to skip this particular impulsive decision. I need to play with my new camera (which arrived Friday to remind me why my MasterCard couldn’t shoulder 3 plane tickets) and book some music and see family and chase down the calm. 

On Saturday morning I messaged my friend and she graciously didn’t hate my face for telling her no. I messaged my bestie and she congratulated me on my adult decision. I messaged my boss and he agreed that it was a good call to pass. I messaged the booking agent in Austin and secured Matt the Electrician.

I messaged Andy to borrow a great lens for my new 70D. Then I focused.

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Dating

My dear friend Jack, who a several months ago met a wonderful woman who is the absolute sparkle in his eyes sat across from me at lunch recently with a thoughtful speech prepared. After he and his girlfriend heard me rant across a glass or three of whiskey one weekend after a bad dating experience, he bestowed upon me his words. I wish I could have recorded it. He was very right in a lot of ways. More on that in a second.

I am a mega fan of Brene Brown’s work and was wishing last week she had some sort of help with staying Wholehearted through the dating life. I know I can apply those principles on my own but to have specific anecdotes would be tremendous. As a person who spent the last year or two on a quest for wholeheartedness, presence and the reclaiming of my Self, this territory of dating is difficult. 

Jack knows I believe most people are good and sees me give people the benefit of the doubt when at all possible, over and over and over. He worries it leaves me too vulnerable. Personally, I believe that if I’m going to have a successful go at this phase of my life that I have to approach it as true to my Self as possible, which must leave me vulnerable. It isn’t easy to strike the balance of vulnerability and boundaries. I never want to shroud myself in armor, but I also don’t want some guy to get his sharp knife into my tender, pink heart. It is tricky. 

The last 6 months of dating have gifted me a hell of a lot of experiences. So many first dates. So many friend zones (both where it happened to me and where I did the reclassification). So many first kisses and bad kisses and holymotherofpearlmyfacejustmelted kisses. A few skin on skin thoughtful or funny or provocative conversations while daylight streamed through the mini blinds. Several late night bad decisions that were so. much. fun. y’all. And a few moments of such extreme and throat-closing awkwardness I thought I would absolutely die. But I didn’t. And neither did he. Or him. Or that other guy. 

I’ve tried lots of dating approaches and really thought I had stumbled upon genius a few months ago. Multi-dating! This is the term I use to describe where I am technically dating two or more men at once (with full disclosure). You see, Guy A and I only see each other every other week or so but then Guy B and I might have happy hour or catch dinner once a week. But when either or both of them are occupied there’s a Guy C who I just met but, “Sure! Let’s get coffee,” because you just never know. One must kiss a lot of frogs, I’m told.

The downside is that the approach is really, really consuming of both time and mental resources. While all the joys of dating are amplified, so are all the frustrations. My most recent Guy C was a man I met on Tinder who was only in the US for a short while. He asked about my American dating life and as I proudly explained the logistics he responded, “So… you don’t want to get close to anyone?”

Ouch.

So much for Wholehearted

This guy who barely knew me was dead right. I am tuckered out from trying to date without letting anyone close to me. Or dating guys who I know won’t get close to me. (I need a nickname for emotionally unavailable. Any thoughts on that, kind reader?) I can’t say that all the guys have fallen into the “don’t get close” category, but more have than haven’t. 

Everything prior to this paragraph was essentially written a couple of weeks ago. Tonight as I settled in to play catch up on some computer things, I checked my email. A fresh post was waiting for me from Danielle LaPorte, a new-to-me life coach who is the perfect blend of sassy and softie. The title of the post read, “Open, gentle heart. Big fucking fence.” The advice I give on Love that took the longest time to learn. I began to read…

“being loving” meant: letting everyone in the door … ignoring the mismatch between people’s words and their actions … and generally taking more shit than anyone should. While I professed to suffer no fools, I was, you know, suffering some serious fools.

Well, now. That got my attention. Then she said,

Closing my heart would be certain soul death. Not an option. Shutting my heart half-way would be like shallow breathing for eternity, and I’m here to breathe life in fully wholly holy. So semi-openness was not an option either.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Then she told a story she tells her son, 

“Keep your heart open, as wide open as you possibly can. Keep it so soft. Let it be tender. FEEL EVERYTHING. Feel your feelings, share your feelings. Keep your heart gentle, gentle, open, open.

And then… put a big fucking fence around it. Make it tall and make it strong. Ask your angels to guard the gate for you at all times. Do not let anybody past your gate unless their own heart is open and gentle. Only let in people who are respectful, kind, interested and loving. Emphasis on respectful, kind, interested and loving.”

Do not let anyone past your gate unless their own heart is open and gentle. 

Only let in people who are respectful, kind, interested and loving.

I have not done this. I’ve let everyone in all willy nilly and then get pissed when they aren’t interested or respectful or loving or kind. Or any combination thereof. 

Dear Universe, please grant me patience and compassion. 

I’m putting my fence up now. 

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