You all knew this was coming.....

Those six little letters that spell out a word, who's concept I don't understand AT ALL......D.A.T.I.N.G.

Since the tender age of 15 I have been what some would call "a relationship girl". My first serious relationship, whom at the time I thought to be the love of my life, lasted almost over five years. I'll put it nicely and say it was probably about three years too long, but hey...I was young. The next relationship came a few months after that first one officially ended. I spent a good two or so years with this one, was engaged, surprised with my first child..all that good stuff. Eh, another flopper. Within a couple months of that one officially ending I met my ex husband while attending school. Well at the time he wasn't my ex but you get the picture. I spent almost three years with him, marriage, another child....and since I call him my ex you can guess what happened with that.

The picture I'm trying to paint here is that I spent little time, since becoming a woman, actually playing the field and 'dating'. It's like I would end one and stumble upon the next with little or no effort. I didn't have to learn the rules, play the wait three days before calling game, pick flower petals trying to predict if he liked me or liked me not...it just was. At the young age of twenty..........*mumbles* I find myself very much THROWN in to the dating pool except I don't know how to swim!! If I were to be asked my take on how things should go down it would be as follows:

1. you meet someone and decide if you'd like to get to know them further
2. you talk on the phone, text all day, and go out on a series of dates where you talk, laugh, dance, eat, and spray ample amounts of smell good all over yourself to leave that lasting scent impression
3. if all goes well you make that person your boyfriend/girlfriend and focus solely on each other without the distractions of others
4. you fall in love

See now, don't you like the way I think? So simple, to the point, no nonsense. You like someone...you tell them, show them, want ONLY them. Oh boy was I naive! I'm starting to realize I might just be the only person who thinks this way IN THE WORLD! If you've stumbled upon my blog via my sister's, you know her take on the dating game. I've never seen a person with so many rules, standards, and reasons to get yourself cut! I use to think she was insane but really everyone has their own check list. So why haven't I written one?

My take on how people date today goes like this:

1. you meet someone and size them up based on looks alone
2. you hang out with them only when it's convenient to you
3. there's no labels anymore because labels indicate some sort of commitment that prevents you from doing whatever it is you want to do, thus we don't speak about what we are
4. love? what is this word you speak of? people don't love anymore. love is for simps and in order to not become vulnerable and take a risk, you keep people at a distance by surrounding yourself with a few to choose from as to not really get to know anyone

Ok so my interpretation might be a little off, but it's damn near close you have to admit. I have been running into problems though that could only mean two things: I suck or men suck.
Being the fabulous person that I am I'd like to say that it's the latter, but you never know. Am I expecting too much from the dating game, or does that dating game need to rise to meet my standards?

Advice, suggestions, opinions....all welcomed. But be gentle...this is all new to me.