HE GAVE ME A ROSE!!!!

It has been eons since a man has
given me a rose... or any
flower. Of course I'm
not counting flowers sent
by friends and relatives
for funerals or holiday
flowers sent to the family.


Okay, I'll admit that buying
flowers "just because" is
a total waste of money.
That's the frugle side of me.


But he picked it from his
garden! What a thoughtful
and nice thing to do!
He knocked on my door
and there he stood with the
rose. For goodness sakes....
I'm 71 years old and I just
about melted!


And, who is "he"?
He is the man I was
agonizing over meeting on
my past two blogs. No, I will
not mention him by name
until the day I am sure
this will develop into a
serious relationship.


But I must admit I am VERY
impressed. We talk plus he is
a very personable person who
easily strikes up conversations
with strangers. Something
I have always done. I talk to
people in lines, in elevators and
at doctors offices which back
east often gets you the
"who's that crazy lady"
stare. SoCal is a whole other
ball game. People are laid
back, friendly, road rage
is not the norm like in
NuJoisey. He was born and
raised in SoCal and probably
has no idea how stressed
out east and rude east
coasters can be.

So here I go again! After Gene
died I felt I was too young
(58) to go it alone for the
rest of my life. And much to
my good fortune Art came
into my life. But when he died
I swore I wasn't going to put
myself at risk of loosing another.
And now my interest is
sparked again. Will I ever
learn my lesson?

MORE.... OHHHH DEAR!

Well, he called last night. I emailed him
my phone numbers around 4pm, later
about 9pm I went to the supermarket for
milk, and when I came back there was an
email asking the best time to call. I replied
any time before 12m was fine. He called
right away. And as I predicted I was tongue
tied, couldn't keep my thoughts in order
because I was nervous. He said he would
call me again tonite. I just hope he didn't
think I'm a crazy old lady and decides not
to call. And yes, he did say my voice would
take some getting used to. I hate my voice!
I probably missed my calling to be one of
those weird voices in cartoon movies.

Ohhhhh dear.

As Eeore would say: "Ohhhh dear!!!"

I posted a few days ago about a

gentleman I am really interested in

meeting and he had said he was

in the process of talking to and

meeting another lady. While

disappointed, I understand and

decided to wait my turn, at least

for awhile, and be content to be a pen pal.

I feel the same since one person to

date at a time is all I can handle.

It's not that it's a moral issue with me.

My brain is simply too disorganized

and if I were dating two men I am

sure I would end up talking to

one about our last fun date when

it actually was with the other. It

happened more than once when

I was a teen and it quickly resulted

in not getting asked out again.

The first thing this morning I

received an email from him

suggesting we meet. I am totally

dumfounded, a nervous wreck. It

is now 3:30pm and I still have

not responded. Oh, I am more

than happy, in fact I would

categorize how I feel close to

feeling like a teenager again who

has scored some attention from

the class heart throb.

While I intend to respond with a

"yes" what else should I say?

Where should I suggest we meet?

What if he does not like me?

What if I say all the wrong things?

And worse, what if I am so

nervous that I cannot talk much

at all. And talking? What about

this horrible voice of mine?

Ohhhhh dear.

To say my voice is "distinctive" is a

gross understatement. Even

after living in SoCal for 11 years I

still have my wacky South Jersey

accent interspersed with my

Southern roots on the DelMarVa

Penninsula. NOT a good

combination. Then add to that

is I have this nasal tone that

makes me sound like the

old TV actress, Selma Diamond,

from the show Night Court.....

or a bit like Fran Drescher, from

the TV show "The Nanny".

And there's just no changing how

my voice sounds unless I

only whisper.

Ohhhh dear.

So now I am a nervous wreck. It has

been FOREVER since I have

dated. I married when I was 23,

he died when I was 58 and I

soon met Art, who I had previously

met in the past.... it really

wasn't a date, it was a reunion

after talking via the internet and

telephone for six months and

discovering we actually met

years ago. Of course I did not

clearly remember him but he

remembered me and quite accurately.

I guess I made an impression?

Will I make a good impression with

this new gentleman?

Ohhhh Dear!

And talking to him when we meet. I am a

writer and this comes very easy to me.

But holding a conversation face to

face? When I write I can put

my thoughts in order. Delete, cut and

paste, back space and proof read. I am

typical of many hyperactive and

creative people, there are so many thoughts

running through my head that my

mouth just cannot keep up. In the

middle of what I am saying there are

a dozen other related thoughts trying to

make it into the conversation and I

often change subjects in the

middle of the sentence, start to

talk about something else, then fail

to get back to my original thought.

Especially when I am nervous.

Ohhhhh dear.

And I cannot rehearse what I am going

to say when meeting this man...

not like I used to do when I used

to give financial presentations, or when

I was teaching about something.

This is different, it cannot be

rehearsed. Ohhhh dear!

If I am so happy I am going to

meet this man why am I so much

in a flutter about it? For goodness

sakes... I'm 71, I'm not a teenager

any more so why am I feeling

like one? Relax Mary, take a deep

breath, and stop being a

worry wart.

Ohhhh Dear!

and another heavy

SIGH.....

GETTING BACK INTO THE DATING GAME

This is my family. Left to right:

My baby, Marybeth

My oldest, Eva (Diva)

Little ole me

My "adopted" sister, Bobbi

My middle child, Anna

Now, for the reason to post.

It has been a long time since

I have posted. I haven't been all

that busy. In fact I'm

beginning to realize that my

life has become lonely and boring

and that I miss having a man

around the house.

I have been on vacations and

cruises with my daughters

and girlfriends, trips with

the senior citizens, but too often

I find I'm doing my favorite

things alone. My daughters all

live back east, my favorite travel

partner has found a new love

and our plans for a trip to Ireland

and Scotland as well as a cruise

up the Rhine, to Hawaii and

Alaska have been put aside.

My middle daughter has also

found a new love and has changed

her plans to spend two weeks

with me in September. Yes, they

were all here once this year

but I was looking forward to

another visit. From the way things

are going my daughters next

vacation will be a honeymoon.

I'm so happy for her but.....

My sister and girlfriends got

together for a combined

birthday party. Two of my

friends, Dottie and Bea, were talking

about all the fun they were having

since they joined a senior dating

site. In fact Dottie, at age 80,

seems to have found her perfect

match. So I came home and

joined up.

I'm way way out of practice with

this dating thing. As my past

blogs say, after my first husband

died it was only a year and a

half before I met my 2nd, who after

we started talking we realized

we had met years ago at several

corporate financial conferences.

So there was no real dating,

looking for the perfect mate, we

just melded into a wonderful

10 year relationship.

Still, how hard could it be to

seek out a new mate? Not to brag

but I look darned good for my

age, I have a good sense of humor,

I'm happy and positive, I'm

reasonably intelligent, and I am

financially secure. In my (biased)

opinion I am a good catch.

And here I am a month later

still without a date. Perhaps one

mistake I made was to state

I am financially secure. Seems this

put up the "scam antenna" out

to attract 50 somethings looking

for a sugar momma. Half of those

who contact me are in this

category. Hey guys! I wasn't born

yesterday. I am not flattered or

all-a-flutter. I got my money because

I'm smart, know how to invest,

and worked hard.

I get lots of "winks" and "I'm interested"

messages. At first I responded to

a few of them and found out they

came from men who seem to be

incapable of constructing an

entire sentence. If you can't tap out

a decent message how well will

you be able to communicate?

I was married to a non-communicator

for 30+ years, no thanks to that

again. And finally the most

annoying ones. Elderly men looking

for a test subject to so they can

try out their Viagra prescription,

and/or obviously looking for

a replacement housewife who

will cook, clean, and do laundry.

Sorry guys, my idea of

planning a meal is deciding

what to order from Chinese

take out. I do laundry for two

reasons, I ran out of under ware

or I have to sit on the cloths

hamper to close it. And cleaning?

I vacuum up the big chunks

and tell everyone that all

flat surfaces are not really

dusty, they are frosted.... Just

don't touch them and spoil

the effect.

So I finally found one really

good prospect.... exactly what

I am looking for. Seriously

involved with vintage cars,

something I have loved forever,

active, and can actually

communicate.

Unfortunately, one big draw back,

he's 5 years younger than me.

Well, he answered me right away.

Said the age difference is not

an issue. Yea! But as I read

on the disappointment came....

he is already communicating

with someone else, I hope it's

not Bea, and he wants to

meet her before moving on to

meeting me. But he wants to

remain pen pals.

Oh well, I'll wait out being 2nd

place choice for awhile...

But.....

SIGH.....