The date that never was

        So throughout my dating years I've been on a fare share of "perfect dates" with only one small glitch- they were not dates. At 19 I planned a whole day of pioneer valley fun- a picnic at the summit house, stroll through  yankee candle, and dinner at the Route 9 diner that was, and still is, my idea of a great day. Trouble is as adorable as it was- it wasn't ... at one point the boy even turned to me as the fake snow fell around us in the Christmas room and said "this could be really romantic." I died- yes adorable, mid western, 6-4", good looking, basketball playing, hunk it could be. It was the best date that never was.

    I could ravish you with other tales the biggest one being a year of my life of perfect dates that never were and they continue to this very day. Then there is a "real date" one in which 2 people have arranged to meet at a particular location and do something. I like dates like this because I like doing fun things but they are also terrifying especially if your just hanging out for the first time. In the realm of online dating this is what you get -planned meeting of strangers. In real life you at least have the one up of knowing if you have chemistry with someone or not.
    Tonight I had one of these real dates planned with a lovely guy i've been conversing with over the past month. At work I was a mess, tired, irritated, and on a deep dark emotional cloud. It was so bad people felt the need to comment. When I pouted about not wanting to go out a counselor asked "what's holding you back?" I wanted to say "I'm afraid it's going to be like 2 weeks ago when I'm left with a sweatshirt of a douchebag who won't return my texts" instead I listed various things on my mind to which she countered "None of which this guy caused".... wow she was right all I needed was a little psychoanalysis to set me right.
      As I locked up the building another counselor said "You deserve to have fun on this date. Relax, stay present, and be exited this could be your future husband." I almost cried. I was overwhelmed with the idea that this man(or any person you meet at any moment) could be the one to share in life's adventures with and this bit of motherly advice struck me to my deepest core- I missed my mother and am curious what her advice would be before this en devour.  For a whole 17 minutes I was brimming with excitement and anticipation. That was until I got the text saying he had to work late etc etc I get it this is Hollywood where media jobs don't just end at 5 and plans mean little more then formulated ideas as opposed to being concrete. We decided to postpone to later at 8. When 8 came and went then 9 -I was more then a little perturbed.
     I finally got a text I can meet you at 11. Now this is one of my rule breakers- no seeing boys after 10 PM unless you plan on sleeping with them because that is the only thing that will come of that. So as I declined of course his response was minimal and I simply thought "add this to the list of dates that never was" it seems to be growing a fair amount in the past few months. It's only further convincing me that this is not my path right now and not where my energy should be. If the universe wanted me to go out tonight something would have happened. Instead I watched 3 more episodes of Orange is the New Black (ps super addicted). Instead of being bitter I'm aiming for 'if it was meant to be it would be' and have settled somewhere between the two. I'm trying to focus on the fact that love is a life long journey not a sprint to some hypothetical finish line. At the end of the day there is one person in my life who I will always love, who will always have my back, and will never cancel- myself.