Dating Again - Chapter 2 / Date #1

Well, last weekend I officially joined the ranks
of the dating community, this time as a single
parent. Jennifer and I went out to an Italian
restaurant in the mall followed by a nice movie.
I can’t tell you that I wasn’t nervous, but she
is very low key and comfortable to have a
conversation with. So, that helped me quickly
get over the first date jitters.

It was sort of surreal to me to be with another
woman. Conversation at dinner was very steady and
didn’t have any awckward pauses. I’m a real good
listener and we had a lot to learn about each
other’s backgrounds, parents, family history, and
careers so there was plenty of ground to cover.
I love talking about my son and didn’t feel like
I was boring her even though she wasn’t a parent
herself.

I think, at this age, we all have nephews and
nieces that we dote over so everyone has some
funny and interesting kid stories. At some
level, she could relate to my stories about my
son. I think we all have a sixth sense of when
someone thinks you’re going on boring tangents
in a conversation and you’re being “yesd” to
death. Well, that didn’t happen wih Jennifer
and it made me a lot more at ease. What proud
parent wouldn’t carry on talking about their
kids! Its just a matter of whether the people
on the receiving end are into it as well.

So, going to a movie after was a nice touch
in order to take the pressure off of having to
talk for hours. It was also refreshing to know
that we have the same taste in movies. We went
to see the “American Gangster” movie with
Denzel Washington in it. I’ve always claimed
you can’t go wrong with Denzel.

All in all, my first foray into the dating world
could have gone a lot worse. Jennifer would
be a nice person for me to call up to hang out
with. We both openly admitted that neither one
of us is looking to dive into a serious
relationship anyway. Just looking to keep it
casual.