I Think I'm Going to Be Single for Awhile..

It seems that I am always getting emails from people asking me what the secret to happiness is as a single parent? So many of these people are just plain unhappy being single as, a single parent. They seem to believe that they need to be with someone in order to validate their life. Then I get the emails from the married people telling me how unhappy they are, and again, if they were just single they would be happier. To this group I say "Be careful what you wish for". The only place that you are going to find true happiness is first and foremost, within yourself. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

So why is it that everyone who is married thinks that I have the perfect life as a full time single dad. My friend Mike likes to tell me that I have it all figured out. I have branded myself at www.singleparentstown.com as a single dad, and in order to continue my mission, I must stay single. I remind him that some day I hope to find my soul mate again and live happily ever after, but he doesn't believe me. He says that he just likes to live vicariously through me. I then have to remind him that I have no vicarious to live through...

I recently noticed on Facebook that I must be single, married or complicated. Why are those the only options I have? Why can't I be single and uncomplicated? What about those who want to be single and married? Or those that are married and want to be single? Oops, I better not go there... What about those who are complicated and want to be uncomplicated? Facebook really needs to give us all a few more options if we truly want to let our friends know who we are.

Lately I have been learning alot about who I am, when it comes to dating. It seems as though I have always been in a relationship. The kids mother and I were together for over 13 years and my last relationship lasted almost 4 years. Now don't get me wrong, I haven't left one relationship and rolled right into another one, but I have really never been one to date alot of people. I wouldn't know how to sign up for Match.com, EHarmony or a Single Parent dating site to save my life.

Recently I have found myself on a "two date maximum" and I'm loving it. Getting to know people has been alot of fun, getting to know that they are not your type has been even funner. For probably the first time in my life I really don't care if I am in a relationship or not. I have more than enough female friends (one of the reasons the four year relationship ended). I am happy with who I am, and I have come to realize that my babies are no longer my babies, but teenagers who will be leaving me soon. Finally, and probably most importantly, I am really just enjoying my free time.

Now don't get me wrong. First of all I don't need someone to validate my life for me, but I am totaly open to finding love again. I am sure that someday that person is going to walk into my life and I am going to be swept off my feet again, I just hope that I'm not her "two date maximum"