So, having had a veritable sex marathon over the course of the weekend, I'm surprised to find myself allowing DD to come over the following Wednesday night after my son is asleep. This night though, I pick his brain ad nauseum about dating with children - his experience with his own kids and his experience dating other women with children. He tells me that most women aren't as protective of their children and meeting a man/date/whatever as I am.
"Then you're dating idiots" I say.
This makes him laugh. "I didn't say it was RIGHT."
"It's not right" I say indignantly, and go on to spew what all the literature and books have told me. My personal bible "Sex and the Single Mom: A Guide to Dating, Mating and Relating" gets the most air time. When I get off my soapbox, I look at him though to see him smiling as if I've done something cute. This annoys me a little, but I try to stay calm.
"It's uncharted territory for me. And a little bit of a chicken and the egg situation in terms of...well, I don't want to introduce my son to just anyone BUT I also don't want to fall for somebody and then have them not like my kid. Because that's a dealbreaker. Plain and simple."
Friday morning rolls around - we've made a date for Saturday night to go to the roller derby with my friends.
I get a text:
"Do you want to go to the Royals game tonight? Buck night, fireworks...could be fun!"
This sounds awesome, but...
"I would love to! But, since we're going out tomorrow night and I have to work tomorrow, I need to hang with [my son] tonight."
I know he'll understand this.
"No pressure...and you can introduce me as a friend...but the ball field is a great place for little people."
I find myself with a strange lack of hesitation and immediately reply "well, if you don't mind him coming along, we're in!"
If there's a way to a single mother's heart, it's most rapidly achieved through a great date with her kid involved.
We have a fabulous time at the baseball field. DD is not only good with my son, but I have this glimpse as he holds him and I pay for a Royals shirt and as he puts the carseat in of what life might have been like if I had had help raising my son so far. Help...what would that have been like?
It's nice, but neither obtrusive nor makes me too melty. He's respectful the whole evening of his behavior towards me and when we come home and I put Peyton to sleep, that's when he kisses me for the first time. It's perfect. He doesn't stay the night that night - we're both exhausted.
It's official: I am in like.
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