Stranger Danger

Swipe no, swipe no, oh crap no…SWIPE NO HONEY! The house is finally quiet and I’m finally able to sit down after a long day of work, cooking dinner, and getting my little guy bathed and tucked in. My sandlewood wax melts are burning though the house causing me to feel even more at ease from its aroma. That warmer is probably the best ten dollars I’ve ever spent. It’s times like these that I wish I had someone to pillow fight with, or someone to get the knots from my back and shoulders after chasing down kids to brush their teeth in the office. I guess you could say that’s how I ended up in the world of online dating. A tight schedule married with single motherhood doesn’t leave much vacancy for going out to meet new people. I seem to always find myself at work or home. When friends from invite me somewhere my response is usually the same, “ It’s too late for me to find a sitter, you have to let me know in advance.

Then, one day I decided to get into the virtual dating scene.  After being paranoid from shows like Web of Lies and Catfish, my anxiety was through the roof over the entire thing. I’m no idiot so I knew there were just certain signs to look for and behavior to steer clear from to avoid running into  a complete sociopath. After activating my account and placing my best selfie in my best wig, the messages started rolling in. There are some absolute nut jobs out there! I’ve been propositioned for things I wouldn’t think of doing in a million years. There’s men out there waiting to be casted in the next lifetime movie of someone who’s just off their rocker. After several months and being more specific in my profile intentions I found a few that were decent however this went on for a few years.

After speaking with a possible prospect for some time it was typical for us to exchange phone numbers once they passed my “Are you a ding bat “ questionnaire. When I received their number I would drop it into every search engine I could think of. Facebook, Google and even public records. Facetime was a must as well. I was always skeptical of the people I couldn’t find anything on. LIES they’re telling, LIES! I’ve caught some in lies and others in a whole bunch of lies.  Not all have been horrible though. I’ve gone on a few dates and enjoyed myself but there was just no connection. I think it’s very important to follow your gut. Every date I’ve gone on I’ve been sure to tell at least 2-3 people where I was headed, with who, their number and a snapshot of them. NO JOKE. You can never be too safe. It’s important to meet in a safe public place and to have your guard up. There are several restaurants here in Charleston where I have gone to a few times and my favorite waitress/waiter knows when I’m on a date and NOT INTERESTED. They keep a close eye on me, and my date never has a clue that the cops will be called in a heartbeat if need be. No actual success have come from this as of yet but what’s meant to be will be when the time is right. For now I’m done with the online dating circuit. I have a better chance of meeting someone on the milk isle at Walmart.  Ladies if you choose to go this route please make sure you take the necessary precautions to keep yourselves safe at all times.