Showing posts with label Getting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

I asked her to be friends, and I'm getting mixed signals. What does it mean?

Love and Relationship Advice Forum

I'm 25 and my ex is 20. We dated for 10 months and she became really distant with me due to talking to her ex and I believe some confusion in what she wants. She kind of made it clear by her distance and us not talking that she didn't want more from me. So I stopped contact. She came back apologizing and telling me she needed me in her life so we kind of started talking again...however the distance began to happen again and I knew I had to remove myself from the situation. It felt like an off-on thing, and I felt like I was just getting led on with my emotions so I gradually stopped asking what was wrong and what I meant to her and just kept my distance. She tried talking to me a few times, and seemed okay with us talking. She sent me a morning text which was kind of awkward cause I had not received one in 2 weeks....
I suggested being friends a few days ago, and I asked her if she was happy with that, and she said "I guess"...So I questioned that and she told me she didn't know what she felt. I told her to think about it. On her facebook she posts lyrics to a song that is about unrequited feelings and not knowing if your time has passed to tell the person what you feel. (i dont think is a coincidence)
I then talked to her a few days later asking her if she gave it any thought and she seems really distant....she told me she didn't know and that she was not in the mood to talk about it now because she was in a bad mood.
I am not sure entirely what is going on here....but she is really closed off.
Help?? I thought she wanted friends....but than she seems....off?
In my opinion she needs more time to figure out what she needs. So the only thing that you can do is to avoid her for a while.
But if you still have feelings for her, don't try to hide it. Talk to her for the very last time, tell her that you care about her and then stop contacting her. Let her make the next move.
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Monday, August 12, 2013

The Top 7 Things You Must Talk About Before Getting Married

what to talk about before marriage Do you agree on money, kids, work, etc.? Sit down and discuss these seven topics before you both say 'I do.'

Being in love is a wonderful feeling, but staying in love is a wonderful skill. Every couple needs to develop the ability to talk about everything. You may think you know your spouse-to-be, there may be many things you folks have not discussed before marriage. Do it now so you can create that rewarding relationship!

Here are the top seven topics you should discuss before tying the knot:

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1. Money: How will you both handle money? Who will pay bills, save, plan for spending and allocate fun money? Will you follow a budget? Is it often a good idea? How much should be saved? If one of us makes more does that mean he/she gets to control more of the money? Will you have a common "pot" or divided accounts? What is a necessity and what is a luxury (going out to eat, seeing a movie, cable, vacations, Starbucks, etc.)? How are debts or assets brought into the marriage and then viewed? Money is a big topic couples gloss over and then regret, and it is one of the top reasons couples give for getting divorced!

2. Kids: Do you both want kids at some point? Do we both agree on when, how many, and how we'll take care of them? What will be your parenting style? Are you able to work as a team and agree to present a united front? What should you do if that isn't happening? How will children be disciplined? Kids are a blessing, but definitely a stress-inducer for relationships—plan accordingly.

3. Career: How will work be negotiated? Will both of you work? How many hours a week? Will it be okay for one of you not to work and under what circumstances? If one of you were to be offered a career opportunity in a location far from the other's family, are you prepared to move? How do your levels of ambition match or differ? Are you okay with them being different? If they match, does it cause competition and how do you handle that in the long term? Work is usually a big part of your life (taking up a third of a day) so it is important you both understand how it plays out in your future lives together.

More from YourTango: Listen, Guys: 5 Things Women Wish You Didn't Do In Relationships

4. Free Time: What do you enjoy doing together and apart? How have you developed "play" and free time? What are the expectations about how you'll spend free time once married? How much time will you each have together, alone or with your own friends? Do you respect each other's friends? How will you divide chores? How much free time will be devoted to chores? What does each of you dread or like to do as chores? What chores are important to each of you? After work, your free time and chores impact your relationship time greatly. It is important to have a balance in both. Keep reading...

More marriage tips from YourTango:


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The Ultimate Shy Girl's Guide To Getting A Date

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ProConnect Subscribe to Experts Blog By Monique Boyd. Posted on May 30th 2013.

shy girl's guide to dating Shy girls have a flirty side too! You don't have to say a word ... and he'll be hooked!

As a self-professed former shy girl, I can tell you that meeting men can be a downright brutal process. You are simply not comfortable going up to men and asking them out on a date. Going out to socials is fun for everyone else but you. You would much rather be home cuddling with your sweetheart, curled up with a box of popcorn watching Joey on an episode of Friends. Life just can't get any better.

Well, for all of my shy girls, I totally get you and have included some of my ultimate top 10 favorite ways that will help you get noticed and get the guy!

More from YourTango: So You're Marrying A Man With A Lot Of Financial Debt...

1. Be confident in yourself. This may sound like a contradiction, but you need to be confident in who you are and self-assured that you will get what you need in life. It helps you to honor your boundaries and set firm standards of what you will and will not tolerate from men. Interestingly enough, men love confident women and generally rank it high on their list of desired traits in a woman.

2. Dress to impress the guys. It's been said that women dress to appease other women. But when you're single, attracting men should be a priority. There are plenty of nice outfits for both day and night that would be perfect for the office and that late evening happy hour as well. You may want to check to see if there is a consultant in one of your favorite stores. Let her know the desired effect you want out of your look and she may be able to help you. You may also want to hire an image consultant.

3. Have a flirty, optimistic attitude. Men are attracted to women that can make them feel good. If you nag or complain a lot, then he'll begin to imagine this is what it will be like when the two of you are married and run away quickly. If you seem to always have a positive outlook on life, you'll be a keeper, as he'll imagine great times with you in the future. Having a positive attitude is worth more than its weight in gold in getting noticed by men. 

4. Show charm and grace. These are traits that really stand out on a woman because they're not taught in schools or homes anymore. There are some men that love to have a beautiful woman on their arms who is also well versed on proper etiquette. He'll always think of you when he is invited to upscale events.

More from YourTango: Ladies...Do You Have The Power In Your Relationship?

5. Wear unique accessories. You want to stand out in the crowd, right? Well, this is a fun way to do it. Wear something unique like a vintage hat or an odd piece of jewelry as they could be great conversation starters. I love hats and jewelry. As a matter of fact, when I'm out on a scorching hot day, I make sure to put on a pretty hat and I always catch a guy looking my way. Keep reading...

More dating tips from YourTango:

Dating Coach

Monique Boyd

LiveLoveAspire.com

LiveLoveAspire.blogspot.com

Email:  info@liveloveaspire.com

Credentials: BS, CLC, CRC, MBA

Other Articles/News by Monique Boyd:By Monique Boyd

No longer am I hearing my single girlfriends talk about finding their "knight in shining armor." Instead, they're talking about how much debt this guy is going to bring to the table. They definitely have a reason to be concerned, since it isn't at all unlikely that they will date and then marry someone who has been married multiple times ... Read moreBy Monique Boyd

There’s usually always one person in a relationship that appears to have the power while the other one has to make a few adjustments.  It’s certainly not to say the two people in the relationship don’t equally love each other, it’s just that one person may have some type of power over the other one.  I like to term this ... Read moreSee More

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Pregnant Belly Thinking about hiring a doula or midwife for your child's birth? Read this first.

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Have a dating or relationship question?
Visit Ask YourTango and let our experts and community answer.

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Anastasia’s Wedding Album Keeps Getting Fatter…

The good news continues to roll in at AnastasiaHQ as yet more members say ‘I do’. We’ve collected together some of our favorite heart-warming accounts of long-distance love and marital bliss.

Valentine’s Day is going to be extra special this year for these happy couples…

Our relationship started very romantically. We got acquainted through correspondence in August 2011. Perry made approaches to me in a very lovely way. Before we met each other in real life, he had sent me a lot of flowers and candies and it made me feel that he was a real gentleman. Our first meeting was in 10 February 2012, because we wanted to spend time on the Valentine’s Day and my Birthday together. That wonderful week seemed like one day of fully happiness for both of us. My future husband made surprises to me every day. We went to galleries, museums, the performances of opera, ballet, circus and dolphins’ romantic night show. It was incredible time for both of us. We understood that we had a lot of common interests and we were born for each other. Now we can’t imagine now how we lived without each other before.

When Perry went back home, we really counted each day and hours till our next meeting. Our letters to each other became warmer and closer. We chatted every day and it helped to overcome the pain of separation from each other. Our next meeting was in the beautiful city St. Petersburg in April, 2012.  My wonderful husband made a present for me and we flew from very amazing, but cold St. Petersburg, Russia to warm and sunny Hurghada, Egypt. Our love became stronger and stronger under the warm sun beams. Two weeks passed quickly and intensely. After our dreamlike trip we understood that our destiny was to be with each other.

And on our third meeting each other in Prague, Perry made a proposal to me and we got married in this historical and super romantic city. Our wedding took place on the 31 of August 2012 and joined our lives and hearts forever. Now we’re very happy and we realize that without AnastasiaDate it wouldn’t be possible. We’re very grateful to AnastasiaDate for their support and professionalism, because we really found our soul mates here. And we wish the happiness to all clients of AnastasiaDate.

Perry- Canada

Svetlana - Russia

 

“Do you believe in miracles? For some time now I believe! Our story is truly unbelievable........
Two completely different continents, two lonely souls and two hearts, which are so much longing for the warmth and love......
We didn’t meet just by chance, it was for a reason - we both were ready to relationships and family life.

In one part of the world – unsuccessful relationships with men and disappointments; and in the other - life of a lonely man, who is bringing up his nice darling-daughter by himself..... Our prayers were answered and we met just in few months after signing up an Anastasia.

What a meeting we had......... Words can’t express that, our eyes at the airport said it all for us...... We understood that it is really a fatal, decisive meeting for us... Nathan proposed marriage to me via the Internet for the first time, and during the meeting he proposed ??it again, but this time with a ring. Soon we plan my relocation to the USA, now a real family is waiting for me there, my baby Vanessa and my beloved, already husband! I do know and firmly believe that we will be happy!!!


Nathan - the USA

Elena- Ukraine

 

Hello I am Lucy  from Armenia.

I would love to here express my utmost gratitude to this amazingly beautiful website for the even more beautiful work they are doing!

My special greetings and gratitude to the Armenian affiliate for their heartfelt support and professional attitude. If it weren’t for this website, I and my beloved would never make this world such a small place.

The world has changed before my eyes when I met my dear Ulf, we started corresponding and after exchanging quite a few letters Ulf decided to visit me in my homeland. Feelings were different; I was very anxious yet hesitant. I simply did not want to believe that the beauty of all the letters we had exchanged could actually be real.

There are definitely  going to be many barriers starting with language ending up with distance, but as long as you two have feelings for each other smiling those barriers away becomes a real pleasure. Now we are very happy and I am sure that will be together forever

Greetings from Norway!

Thank you AnastasiaDate!

Lucy - Armenia

Ulf - Norway

 

Hi everyone!I would like to share with you my impressions about wonderful meeting with the man of my dreams - Baaby! First of all I want to thank you this site for giving me such a great chance to start communication with him. We have been communicated for a month, we could chat for hours, we talked by phone, exchanged letter and then finally we met in person. I was quite impatient for our first romantic date. We spent few days together but it was enough to realize that we really like each other and we both want to start to build happy and strong relationships. He is very kind-hearted man, gentle, intelligent, romantic, I was impressed how he can treat a woman. Like a real gentleman! I think I am a lucky person! Now we are planning to spend Christmas and New Year holidays together. I am very happy!!! Everything is possible and people really can find their soul mates on this dating site. I have found my beloved man! You must believe and everything can happen! I hope you enjoyed my story. I wish every one who reads these lines to find your love very soon.

Hello, my name is Bjorn. I want to tell you how I have met my loving lady on the site Anastasiadate.com. You know, I am an old member here. You cant believe me, but I was using this site for 10 years. Many people told me that It could be waste of time, but I am not the man who can easily give up. Yes, in the beginning, it was like a fun for me, I communicated with so many women, I have visited Ukraine for many times dating wrong ladies. Then , I decided to search for a lady not in a big city, I decided to meet a lady who had a child, whose eyes on the photo reflected kindness and sincerity. Yes, she speaks English but it was not my main criteria, I wanted to meet a lady for life. When I saw her photo, I decided that I had to meet her immediately. We exchanges several letters, but meeting is better then so many letters. We have met in Kiev, what should I say….. It was a woman of my dreams. Kristina is so classy, kind and natural. She was not about clubbing and playing games. We have spent couple of days in Kiev and then we decided that just can’t say good bye to each other. We like to laugh at same things, we have same interests and dreams for the future.
We have spent New Year together and visited Egypt for this short period of time, so we could not leave each other for a month!!! It was the longest date))))
Now, I know her mother and son, it seems to us that we knew each other for ages! It is more then possible to meet your beloved on this site, you should just act and not sit still. I don’t regret that I have spent 10 years using this site, because meeting Kristina it is a big treasure. Now we have plans for summer, for future. We talk each day, Kristina and her son will come to Norway next month.
Men, here are so many real and serious women, probably they are not so bright on the photos, but they are bright inside!! I wish all the men to meet their fantastic princess! I am so thankful to this site and to the local agency who help people not to be lost but to find happiness.

Bjorn - Norway

Kristina - Ukraine

 

Of course I can write many pages about my love for her, but I realise you only need a very short summary)) So, here we go....

A few months after we met on AnastasiaDate, Natalia and I decided on a personal meeting in her hometown, Lugansk. On arrival Natalia won my heart from the moment she smiled at me and said ‘hello’. During the following two weeks we thoroughly enjoyed every moment in each other’s company (and arms :))). I am captivated by Natalia’s warm personality, deep soul and exotic beauty. It is not possible to describe my excitement on the day before my departure, when Natalia agreed to marry me – Yahooooo!!! We will meet again soon to continue our plans for our beautiful future together.....

Many thanks to Anastasia website who made it possible for me to find my Dream Girl!

William - the USA

Natalia - Ukraine

 

I am excited to share my success story with everyone!!! Now I am sure – it works! I would like to tell you about just one important moment of my life: AnastasiaDate makes our dream real and unites hearts! I would like to thank this website because I found a very nice friend here. To be honest I had no idea how it works when I joined this website.

But one day I received a very nice letter from a real English Gentleman. His name is Scott. And I learnt from him a nice English proverb: "A faint heart wins no wars"... We have been mailing to each other more than two years… It seemed like we know each other very well... But finally he decided to visit me in my home town. You can’t imagine how excited and nervous I was…

 It happened on a cool autumn day. We agreed to meet in city center and to have dinner together. I was nervous and excited before meeting. But everything was great, we liked each other from the first look. We couldn’t stop to talk, to laugh and to smile… We found a lot of common thing and it was so nice to learn more about each other, our countries, traditions, customs, habits and thoughts…

Time went and we were not shy anymore and continued to enjoy our meeting and liked more and more with each and every minute. We were really happy to meet next day, and next day too…

I am really happy to get so nice new friend. Now new possibilities opened for me. I realized – I have to study English more and I got an invitation to visit Britain soon. Now life seems to be wonderful and I thank AnastasiaDate for given possibility for me to make new friends, to open boarders and to make people happy! I am your friend, AnastasiaDate forever!

Scott - GreatBritain

Nina - Ukraine


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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Guy in marines, getting out soon, doesnt want to date bc of bad relationship past?

So I have been talking and seeing a guy in the marines. We met over a year ago. Don't get to see each other much because we are over 12 hours apart. He is getting out soon (March) and will be back home. We talk a lot, he contacts me frequently. But, he keeps telling me that he doesnt want to date. Not that he doesnt want to date ME, but he just doesnt want a relationship in general. He said that having a girlfriend just seems to create problems (he had one serious girlfriend) - it ended badly because he left for the marines, and it fell apart while they were apart. He would rather not date, because he feels that dating just causes things to end poorly between people. He said he cares about me and doesnt want me to get hurt. But, I am scared that continuing an uncommited thing will end even worse! As for now, I told him I want distance (no talking) until hes back home in March. I think we need more one on one time to make any sort of decisions.

What would you do? Will he ever come around? Is it worth waiting or is he always going to be afraid to commit?


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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Do i have a chance at getting back to dating this girl, or should i call it a day?

Hey guys, first off i'm sorry if this is in the wrong area. I wasn't sure where it fitted as its neither dating or getting back together in the traditional senses. I really need some advice on this as i'm fully confused and don't want to dig a bigger hole for myself. I'm also sorry for the essay.

A quick background, i met this girl through mutual friends and we started chatting which lead to a series of excellent dates. Having known of her before hand i knew she had scars in her past with ex boyfriends being unfaithful and even a case of domestic violence with at least one. It was going really well and despite a short amount of time we were meeting up regulary and although she wasn't one for texting alot.

Well then her best friend i can only assume decided to speed things up and start prompting me (i'm imagine her too) do things like send her a present for her birthday. This actually lead to a point where i then received a text off the best friend saying i had been too full on and that the girl was independant freaked her out. I sent the girl a message and apologised although left blaming the friends prompts out. She replied telling me "its ok, it just caught me off guard a bit. but if i'm honest i'm not sure i'm ready for dating or a relationship". I left it at that although sent her a message now and again asking how she was which she'd reply and ask how i was. I'd started to assume all was a lost cause and that i'd have to live with it.

Then last night (new years eve) i saw her while out with one group of my friends, she was very very drunk. She kept on talking to me, grabbing my hand and holding it when we moved to different pubs, as well as hugging me at one point for a while. She started feeling ill so i said i'd walk her down to the taxi rank as she couldnt walk well. On the way down we held hands and i apologised again for being too full on and said it was great to see her again, but i also told her how her friend had warned me off. Her reply shocked me as she said her friend was talking a load of rubbish, she'd really enjoyed going out with me and that her message was because she's used to guys who want to beat her up and just use her, not send her flowers for her birthday like i had.

After thinking about it, i decided today to send her a message asking how she was feeling and if she wanted to hang out sometime when she was free. Her reply was pretty generic, which wasn't uncommon even when we were dating. To the invite to hang out she said "can do, but i'm not sure when i'm free yet as i haven't got my rota for work".

I'm a bit confused as to how to proceed as while its not a firm no, the fact she isn't one for getting in contact makes me wonder if ill be told when she has got free time. Anyone got any advice on how to proceed with this, or really what i could be missing here?


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Friday, September 14, 2012

Getting serious with girlfriend ... or is it?

Hello all,

My girlfriend and I have been dating for a month and a half now. We both agree that we never thought we would find someone else that clicked with us, and we have. Things have been great. Last week I went to Ohio with her for her grandpa's funeral because she didn't want to go alone. Everything was great until the third day when we had our first argument. We've since worked that out, but I feel like I'm the only one compromising.

I know what calms her and makes her feel good, and I've done that in recent days, but now she has told me that she feels like she is being 'pawed'. I told her I honestly had no idea, and that if she would have told me I would not have done it.

She also may be pregnant. We find out Tuesday morning ... so perhaps me talking about all the plans of living together (which she brought up first) should be left until we find out?

Could use some help here folks ... thanks!


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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Someone's Getting Jealous

Last night, Ben was being extremely insufferable on two fronts: James, and my short story.

“So does this James guy have the hots for you?”

“I might have to have a little chat with your writing boyfriend about the two of you going out drinking after class all the time.”

“Am I taller than James?”

And on and on. I guess Ben’s feeling a little jealous and/or threatened, which truth be told, I’m kind of okay with. Keep him on his toes! But still: annoying.

Less annoying and more worrying is his sudden interest in reading my short story/novel-in-progress. At first, I was bothered that he didn’t ask to read it, but now that he wants to, I’m afraid he’s going to read it and have the same curiosity that James, aka my “writing boyfriend”, did. And in case any of you have forgotten, I am the worst liar on Earth. There are a lot of stories in there that Ben will recognize as being loosely—and not so loosely—based on the truth. My character’s cheating (or not cheating, depending on how you felt during the Brandon/Derrick debacle), for example. And there’s a camping trip featuring tent sex and being discovered by another couple in the woods. And several other things that are likely to make him wonder if I haven’t written all this before, somewhere else. If he asks, I’m not so sure I’ll to be able to convince him that I don’t have a blog, or that I even want to try.

“It’s not ready for primetime yet,” I protested.

“Oh, but James gets to read it.”

“Is that what this is about? You want to read it because you’re jealous that another guy gets to? Also, are you going to act like a freak at the party tomorrow, or are you going to be normal?”

Ben assured me that he was going to be normal, if by “normal,” I meant “quietly menacing” and “vaguely threatening.”

I’m pretty sure I hit the nail on the head. That Ben only wants to read my story now because of James. Hopefully, once he meets him and gets more comfortable with the whole thing, he’ll give it up. Especially because I’m expanding it into novel form. What guy wants to read a whole chick lit novel?

All right, I have to go get ready for the party. God, I hope Ben acts like a sane, well-adjusted human being tonight. I’m having a hard time figuring out if he’s really that insecure about all this, or if he’s just doing it all for the lulz.

Posted at 8:32 PM


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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Someone's Getting Jealous

Last night, Ben was being extremely insufferable on two fronts: James, and my short story.

“So does this James guy have the hots for you?”

“I might have to have a little chat with your writing boyfriend about the two of you going out drinking after class all the time.”

“Am I taller than James?”

And on and on. I guess Ben’s feeling a little jealous and/or threatened, which truth be told, I’m kind of okay with. Keep him on his toes! But still: annoying.

Less annoying and more worrying is his sudden interest in reading my short story/novel-in-progress. At first, I was bothered that he didn’t ask to read it, but now that he wants to, I’m afraid he’s going to read it and have the same curiosity that James, aka my “writing boyfriend”, did. And in case any of you have forgotten, I am the worst liar on Earth. There are a lot of stories in there that Ben will recognize as being loosely—and not so loosely—based on the truth. My character’s cheating (or not cheating, depending on how you felt during the Brandon/Derrick debacle), for example. And there’s a camping trip featuring tent sex and being discovered by another couple in the woods. And several other things that are likely to make him wonder if I haven’t written all this before, somewhere else. If he asks, I’m not so sure I’ll to be able to convince him that I don’t have a blog, or that I even want to try.

“It’s not ready for primetime yet,” I protested.

“Oh, but James gets to read it.”

“Is that what this is about? You want to read it because you’re jealous that another guy gets to? Also, are you going to act like a freak at the party tomorrow, or are you going to be normal?”

Ben assured me that he was going to be normal, if by “normal,” I meant “quietly menacing” and “vaguely threatening.”

I’m pretty sure I hit the nail on the head. That Ben only wants to read my story now because of James. Hopefully, once he meets him and gets more comfortable with the whole thing, he’ll give it up. Especially because I’m expanding it into novel form. What guy wants to read a whole chick lit novel?

All right, I have to go get ready for the party. God, I hope Ben acts like a sane, well-adjusted human being tonight. I’m having a hard time figuring out if he’s really that insecure about all this, or if he’s just doing it all for the lulz.

Posted at 8:32 PM


Find your date here

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Getting Creative

Ben left for Chicago early this morning, and I had an entire weekend day ahead of me with no plans. The first thing I decided to do with my day was catch up on phone calls. First call: the parents.

“Your mother is on a hike,” Dad said. “With her hippie lady group.”

“A hike?!” I exclaimed. My mother doesn’t hike, as a general rule.

“They’re doing some communing with nature thing,” Dad grumbled. “I just hope no one falls and breaks a hip.”

I laughed and played catch up with my father. He’s so much more talkative when my mother isn’t around, but not so talkative that he didn’t have to go after 10 minutes and finish watering the garden before it got too hot outside. It was too early to dial Sarah, who was also on my list, so I called LB instead.

“9:00 on a Sunday, K.? Really?” he asked when he got on the phone.

“You have a kid. I knew you’d be up.”

“I’m barely caffeinated,” he said. “Are you engaged yet?”

I told him I wasn’t, and also to please stop asking. I also told him about Mom’s hiking trip, and try as we might, we couldn’t really picture Mom traipsing through a forest with a bluebird on her shoulder. LB told me about my niece’s latest adventure involving a turtle and a shoebox, and I decided I needed to go visit soon.

“Why don’t we come there?” LB suggested instead. “We can take her to the zoo.”

We decided on the weekend after I get back from Chicago. After we got off the phone, I cleaned, threw in some laundry, and then got out the laptop. I’ve been wanting to embark on a new project lately – a class, a new workout, something – but I hadn’t found anything that was really speaking to me. And there it was in my inbox. An email deal for “10 art, writing or acting classes.” But which one to take? Luckily, I didn’t have to figure it out until after I bought it, which I did. I knew I didn’t want the acting classes – if there’s anything hosting On the Issues taught me, it’s that I am not a natural born performer, and I’m okay with that. I was torn between art and writing. I took art classes throughout high school, and a sculpture class in college as an elective, and enjoyed them both. And as far as writing goes, aside from this blog, I’ve never really done any for pleasure. The idea of writing poetry or fiction was an intriguing one.

When Ben called to tell me he landed okay, I told him about my purchase.

“That’s awesome,” he said. “You’re such a creative person. It would be great if you found an outlet for that.”

“I am?”

“Absolutely.”

Isn’t that weird, how other people see things in you that you don’t see in yourself? Maybe I am a creative person. Technically, my job is a creative one. But outside of work, I don’t really think of myself that way. Or maybe Ben doesn’t know what he’s talking about. At the end of the day (literally), I perused the class schedules and decided on writing. I had three choices – poetry, fiction and non-fiction. I’m going for the fiction. I’m so excited!

Posted at 10:02 PM


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