Sex & the Single Woman: Making the Call
This past year, one of my good friends was faced with a tough dilemma: should she break up with her boyfriend? They had been together for well over a year, and he’s a great guy. However, it seemed like they were in a rut and constantly arguing. Not an easy decision.
She decided to try and stick it out, and now they are better than ever. While I am extremely happy for her, I am left wondering how one makes a judgement call like this.
To break up with him could mean ending something amazing and never getting it back. To stay with him could have meant dragging out an eventual break up. How do you know when something is worth fighting for?
–Maggie
Sex & the Single Woman: High Roller
Yesterday I took some family friends to the local skating rink. Ohhhhhhhh, the memories.
I was instantly taken back to grade school parties at the rink; the smell of stale popcorn and musty skates greeted me the moment I walked into the door. Skating parties were my first social dates. Girls would get dressed up, guys would tease, someone always left broken-hearted. Ah, the drama of adolescent dating.
In the midst of this, however, I couldn’t notice the change. Not in the rink itself, which probably hasn’t been painted since 1975, but in me. No longer was I swept up in that enthusiastic, awkward, confusing, exciting wave of first crushes. Mind you the crowd was all ten years younger than me, but even the skate rental guy I was flirting with, who used to be way too old, was suddenly way too young.
What happened to those days of youthful highs and lows? The endless optimism, the thrill at just holding someone’s hand? Has dating as adults made us forget the charm of when we first started?
–Maggie
Sex & the Single Woman: Cheating Without Knowing It
I firmly believe that there are some men you will never get over. They affect you in such a profound way that you cannot help but hold onto a small piece of them. At what point, however, is this attachment hurtful to future relationships?
Having remained friends with so many guys I’ve dated, I feel like it’s harder to shed that attachment. I still care very much for some of them. If I continue to feel this way, but proceed to date a guy I really care about, am I emotionally cheating on him?
Relationships have an ambiguity that raises so many moral questions. I try not to burn bridges with men, but will allowing myself to care for them eventually sabotage every relationship I will have? Or will a relationship come along that is so meaningful that all of my exes will become irrelevant?
–Maggie
Sex & the Single Woman: Is “Just Friends” Good Enough?
As I bide my time waiting for my One True Love, I often utilize my close guy friends as stand ins for necessary things, such as dates and shoulders to cry on. I am closer to some of these guys than others; there are a few who I count as amongst my best friends. After having spent some time with these guys recently, I am left wondering if I could be happy with someone without being in love.
There are a few select men in my life with whom I can picture a not unhappy future. Yes, I could spend the rest of my life with him, but no, I can’t see us ever falling in love. That being said–is love necessary in a happily ever after?
I do love these guys and would do anything for them without question. I feel like, in some cases, they are the closest thing I have to a boyfriend right now. If I lived my whole life without falling in love with someone, would companionship be enough?
–Maggie
Sex & the Single Woman: Where Does It Stop?
I would like to think that in every relationship there is the utmost honesty between the couple. As ideal as this may sound, it’s just that…. an idealistic thought. My question is, at what point do we decide what to disclose and what to keep to ourselves?
This question can be applied to many aspects of the relationship, like cheating, for example. Is it worth it to tell our significant other something he may otherwise never find out just for the sake of honesty? Is honesty overrated?
I don’t think any person can answer this question unless she is in the position of holding a secret or the position of just having been told one. I know that I struggle to take a stance on the topic.
What do you think?
–Maggie
