Shortly before seeing a popular film about four mature women and their foray into the dating world, I signed up on an internet dating site.
So, it was interesting and timely to see one of the women in the film doing the same thing.
Sadly, the film chose to show successful women in a role of helpless female when it came to the dating world.
Feminist me spent too many hours demonstrating for the rights of women to think it is funny to see educated women becoming childlike in their desire for a man.
But I digress - back to the internet dating site.
So I joined again, but did the free-join thing, as opposed to actually spending money. This means you can look, but you can鈥檛 talk directly with, or get very many details about, the person whose photograph you actually see.
It was most interesting to see what I had attracted. There were several, but one individual stood out.
He wrote that he was a few years older than me, fit, a self described romantic (heavy on the romance part) with strong opinions about some issues.
Okay 鈥� so let鈥檚 go down my personal check list.
Self-confident 鈥� check.
Says he has a good sense of humour 鈥� check.
Shared that he was quite well educated 鈥� check.
Says he was of a certain height 鈥� check.
He likes music 鈥� check.
He enjoys movies 鈥� check.
He enjoys reading 鈥� check.
He still has hair 鈥� check (although not a big deal, says it is dark when his photo shows grey).
Says he likes to hear the sound of the rain on the tent roof 鈥� huh? Oh dear 鈥� no check here.
Tents and I parted on a very nasty camping trip many years ago in Northern Saskatchewan when the entire mosquito population of the province gathered at the Madge Lake campground where my ex-husband, two year old son and I were tenting.
There was a continual deluge of monsoon-like rain for most of the time we were there.
I remember spraying Deet directly into my hair, smearing it all over my body and even then wearing a hat and long sleeves and was bitten through the material by the big and hardy northern Saskatchewan mosquitoes (they surfed in on the rain).
Fond memories of camping I do not have.
There was also a potty incident in the middle of the night 鈥� whereupon yours truly had to use the potty meant for the two-year-old.
So, I managed to squeeze myself out of the double sleeping bag (much like a sausage casing), found the potty and carefully poised myself over said potty, with my long flannel nighty going in first.
As I stood up, the 鈥榮odden with pee鈥� nighty knocked the potty over and there I was cleaning up spilled urine with Kleenex at 2 a.m. (it was still raining and the mosquitoes were still surfing).
Okay - back to the check list.
Says he likes animals 鈥� check.
Says he likes being close to the forest 鈥� check.
Says he likes the smell of the great outdoors 鈥� check.
In fact he loves the great outdoors so much that apparently he loves to dance naked in the moonlight and hoped that perhaps I would join him (no, I am not making this up)!
Well, the idea of two mature (a.k.a.鈥漮ld鈥�) boomers dancing in the moonlight 鈥� naked 鈥� nearly had me falling off my chair in hysterical laughter, as I visualized all the bits flapping about. Not a pretty sight, but extremely hilarious. I鈥檓 still giggling.
It was then I had an epiphanal moment. I like being single.
Delete dating site. Check.
Carole Fawcett is a freelance writer, editor, .