Life After Forty

Dating in my forties is much more interesting, although occasionally more depressing than when I was younger. First of all I find I classify my dates by their occupation. Maybe it goes back to my father who is like a New England Archie Bunker, sitting in his Lazy Boy telling me to find a nice Engineer for a husband. I know he disapproves of my rating system where a firefighter ranks higher than a CPA. Actually I did date a firefighter and I am embarrassed to admit I did it purely because he was a firefighter. How could I pass up that opportunity? It was brief and ended because I was simply not religious enough. Thank God.

After that there was the Cabinetmaker. Cute but possibly overly whiny and well, to be honest not intellectually stimulating. Discovering I am a bit of a snob hasn’t been easy for me. But I find I am able to live with myself. Continue reading Actual Dates…

Match.com, Yahoo personals, Single Parent Network, and eHarmony. Yup, tried them all. For you few “over forties” who haven’t had the pleasure of online dating, it works like this:

First you pick a dating sight and then answer some questions (do you smoke?, what are your religious beliefs?, are you interested in having more children?, and the dreaded- are you slender, fit and trim, average, curvy, or a few extra pounds?) Try not to lie too much, you’ll eventually meet someone from the site. One of the guys told me he met a woman who was easily 50 pounds heavier and a decade older than her profile photo. Seriously, no one expects you to reveal all your warts but keep it in the realm of reality. I chose to say I was “relatively” easy going because I have been known to lose my mind over something minor (whining children turn me into Cruella Deville), however, in general I am easy going.

Okay now that you’ve filled out the profile questions, it is time to post your photo(s). I didn’t happen to have any current photos because, like most moms, I was the one taking the pictures. So I did what anyone would do, I had my 7 year old stand on a chair on top of the coffee table in order to aim the camera at a downward angle. You’ll need to crop and post the best one. And then make sure you bring your camera around with you until you get enough shots in different clothes to add a little variety to your profile (tip: try to do active things, people over forty are attracted to active people). Continue reading Online Dating…