When leaving the house, I like to leave music playing for the animals. I know I’m not alone in this because my neighbor, Hercules, does it for his pets and possibly you do as well. The other day I came home and left the music playing softly in the background while trying to wrap my mind around work, but this song came on and snagged my attention. The beginning reminded me of when Shania Twain said, “Let’s go girls”, but Kane Brown has a deeper voice when he says, “Let’s get it”.
It’s a fun song and who knows, maybe one day I’ll love a man like I love coffee and Chemex. It could happen! 😂
Whenever my daughter wanted to lighten the mood, she would step into the room and belt out the ‘and I’ part of this song like a mini Whitney. Whitney Houston had a set of lungs like no other, and recorded this song for her movie, The Bodyguard, but it was written by Dolly Parton.
I watched, “Here I Am“, about Dolly Parton on Netflix. I find her to be such an interesting woman. She was one of the first women to make it big in country music, and wrote a song early in her career to set the record straight called, Dumb Blonde. Dolly never cared what other people thought about her and she created a persona larger than life.
Dolly was asked to be on the Porter Wagner show and that gave her exposure because there weren’t many TV shows in the early 70’s. When Dolly was ready to leave the show and move on to other ventures, she wrote this song as her way of saying farewell to Porter. He had stopped listening to her, but knew she could get through to him in song.
This clip is from the movie The Bodyguard, which is one of my many favorite movies. This recording caused an uproar by people claiming it was Whitney’s song, but Dolly said, “It is her record. It never sounded that way when I sang it, but it’s my song.” Whitney sang this song to fill in the movie soundtrack, but it far outlived the movie.
I believe one of the kindest forms of love is when we love someone with our whole heart, but have to let them go, and do so gracefully. Your paths cross, intertwine and split, with no bitterness, only love.
My hope for every soul who crossed my path is…
“I hope life treats you kind And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of And I’m wishing you joy and happiness But above all this, I wish you love”
Even though you’re no longer in my life…I will always love you.
Three weeks ago, I reactivated my Bumble dating app, and it was similar to flipping a switch on a revolving door of men. There’s so many men named Michael, I had to start categorizing them by the town they live in. There’s a few things I’ve noticed at this stage of my life in finding the right one.
There’s no rush. The tricky part is finding a human not in a rush.
I’m still willing to drive the distance, but under an hour is sweet.
Someone who loves their life, but would like for you to join in.
My prayer before each date is, “Keep my ears open and mouth shut.”
Laugh your asses off together, and in the same moment.
The hug is the litmus test, and it shouldn’t be quick. It’s when you’re willing to hold each other as long as possible, before it becomes awkward. Where you simply relax in each others arms, and breathe it in. That’s a hug.
Looking back at the men I’ve hugged there was one thing I always did near the end. For some reason, my hand would automatically pat him on the back. It was an odd feeling, and the men didn’t appreciate it, but eventually I’ll hug someone, and my hand won’t automatically pat him on the back.
That will be a good sign.
P.S. If you haven’t met Michelle GD, you need to. She’s a blogger here at WordPress and she hosts a monthly workshop entitled, ‘The Quiet Page.’
I’ve been told, “Life isn’t a fairytale”, but I live like mine is. The people who are a part of my life see it. Every now and then, I watch a romantic movie to be reminded of the love I know is out there, because I’ve lived it.
I may have recently watched the Nicholas Sparks movie, ‘The Choice’. The kind of love portrayed in this movie is rare and not for the faint of heart. It’s difficult to find someone willing to fight for this kind of love. When they wrap their arms around you and hold you tight, your entire world falls apart and lands at your feet, but the pieces pull back together better than before.
I work a lot, so the man will need to insert themselves into my life and not be afraid to take up space. I know he’s there because I’ve had the kind of love described here. The kind that when you spend time together, you could write for days because your heart is so full it wants to spill all over the keys.
Back to the movie, they are neighbors and bother one another to no end. He plays music loudly while she’s trying to think and gives him hell for it. In one scene, he starts walking slowly toward her, and she’s becoming uncomfortable that he’s walking so determined and with intention. Once he reaches her and they’re standing nose to nose he says, “You bother me.”
The other day a man called, and I didn’t hear my phone ring. I sent him a text, telling him I was sorry to have missed his call, but he’s welcome to call back. He said, “Well, I don’t want to bother you.” To get to the fairytale, I want to be bothered.
A member of Fearless Warrior reached out to me wanting to know my whole story. She had read the About page on my Blog and said, “There’s a gap between leaving your marriage and where you are now.”
I tried to summarize the woman she knows today on a Zoom. There’s over 800 published posts between where it began and what you’re reading now. With every click of the publish button, I left ‘that me’ on the page. Each new day brought a newer me, so I told her, “It’s all in the Blog.” Writing is my therapy.
About a week ago, I found this meme and it pretty much sums up my life. When we leave a broken marriage, unhealthy relationship, or anything that’s not suited for our needs, there’s going to be a gap. It’s up to us how we choose to fill the void.
The options are endless, but you know I like to keep things simple. Instead of pulling something or someone from the outside in, I poured what I already had on the inside out. When I chose everyday to love my life, one day life decided to turn around and love me right back.
Every time I listen to this song, I hear something different, but it holds the same message.
On the dating apps there’s a series of questions some want to go through. I answer them, but find myself not asking many in return. One man even asked, “Do you have any questions for me?” I replied, “Yes. Tell me who you are today.” That helps decide if they get a date.
It’s fun talking with my daughter about dating. She just turned 22, so the guys she’s talking with don’t have much of a past. They have so much life ahead of them to learn from. Some of the men around my age, or older are beat up by their past, and hesitant to try again.
I’m thinking about dating men younger than me, but not as young as my daughter. 🙂 By the age of 45 they’ve lived life, and have at least one divorce under their belt, but still have life in them. They haven’t let their past define them, instead they seem to know…
All the boats I’ve missed All the hell I’ve caused All the lips I’ve kissed All the love I’ve lost I got kicked around I’ve been black and blue On my way to you
In November 2020, I wrote down 3 things to keep in mind for 2021. One has come to pass, and I’m working on the second one, but that third one is a daily ‘wait and see’.
I’m not the easiest person to love. I douse my front porch with glitter, and was recently granted permission to do the same to my neighbors driveway, so Barb is glittering up the neighborhood. I noticed the other day, I was showering with soap in the shape and smell of birthday cake.
What was the third thing I wrote down? To fall in love.
Dating apps have become entertainment for me, and I poke fun at myself on FaceBook. Last week, a girlfriend of mine was cheering me on for still being in the dating arena. We chatted and she shared that she stopped looking about a year ago. I cannot leave the dating arena yet because I made this tiny little deal with God. For me to fall in love, I had to be willing to put myself out there to be found.
God realizes I live a fairytale lifestyle, but this a time He told me ‘no’. I fully expected my person to walk up to my front door holding my favorite cup of coffee, but that hasn’t happened. I know in my heart there is someone for me, but the odds are they’re not going to knock on the door. However, I do catch myself checking out every delivery person, just in case.
That was the first step, and it was a scary one, but I’m determined to be fearless in putting myself out there to be found.