Back off the saddle again.

[Underdog]

Wii,

Where are you and Barb in Ontario? I drove up 401 from Toronto last summer to drive D19 to college in upstate NY (she goes to and engineering school across the Ogdensburg bridge). It was a beautiful drive. She also had a horrid winter and is so glad to be back in Colorado for awhile. But she loves living on that side of the country too.

Since you've been talking about dating and getting back into the saddle here too... and since Barb started this thought on Ellie's thread... I have to agree with the ladies by not going out with someone who is "your type". I'm trying to say yes to as many requests as I can (eliminating those crazies). The only reason I say that is because apparently, my type has changed since I was in my 20s. I just conveniently forgot I'm now 51 and have changed!

There was an article written by a gal some years back who had the year of saying yes. Unless she was physically unable to go somewhere, she said yes to every invitation for one solid year. She blogged about it, and had plans to write the book; oddly enough, that December, she said yes to someone just as she was closing that chapter who wound up being her forever guy.

The reason it caught my eye was because she went into it not expecting anything but a series of experiences and conversations she could use as a growth tool. Okay, and a means to make some additional income by telling her story too. Her experiences were hilarious and frustrating, but she walked away from it with a year of massive change. She discovered more about herself as well. Her comment that resonated with me was that she found out she really doesn't have a type, and doesn't believe we do either. We just have comfort zones.

For the less enlightened, those comfort zones might be recreating a future with people from our past (those don't usually have happy endings).

So maybe accept a date with someone who is your polar opposite just to see?

My first date was with someone who told me up front that he holds opposing political views - I think he threw it at me as a gauntlet. But I have tons of friends who share his views, and I refuse to look for our differences rather than our similarities. I've actually made THAT my mantra going forward. What do we have in common? What do I like about this person?

Maybe we're a little luckier than Clay, who gets the women who want to get married again by virtue of his age. Pretty much most people I meet that are my age - both men and women - aren't looking for that. Thank goodness it takes some of the pressure off?

I hope you get way more baseball this summer. I'm a complete sports freak, and am unapologetic about it. In fact, now that we got St. Patrick as hockey coach, I just might have to become a season ticket holder again. I only gave them up when I had to choose between hockey and D19's volleyball. She won. Now I might make myself a winner! I just couldn't date a guy long term who wouldn't go to baseball games with me. And you should be able to find that woman there too.

Here's to a weekend of good baseball!

Betsey