Well said, Charles!!

As we become older and more experienced, wisdom should mold us into the persons we will be in our "2nd" half of life's journey. I will not allow myself to go through the same mistakes I made in the past and if I have to remain alone for the rest of my life, then so be it! Too many of us have been extremely hurt in one way or another. We need to stop taking each other for granted! Divorce it at it's highest these days because we simply do not want to "deal" with the changes we all experience with relationships. Why can't we "change" together instead of growing apart? I never thought I'd be "starting over" in my 40's...

Hi to everyone out there in the big, wide world of E-mail/ On-line dating! I too, never thought that "it" could happen to me, but it did. I always marvel at the younger generation of 20-30 yr.olds who say" (divorce) will never happen to me"; and I have to chuckle, now I can chuckle. Who in their right mind gets married to get divorced!!!!! No one I know did. But through time comes wisdom. We learned, and so will they. Hopefully, they won't end up learning like us, marrying young (23) and growing in diferent directions, rather than in the same direction, with the same ideals and hopes for the future. I think thats key to maintain a relationship and/or a marrisge. Today as well as 30 yeoars ago. Things change, but the concept remains the same. I do look forward to the future, good or bad. I have hope of having a significant other in my life, when , I don't know, but I believe it will happen. If its meant to be ,it will be. I enjoy most people and love to hear there thoughts on different ideas. I was married for 10 years and have been Divorced for 15 years. I had (1) long relationship which after 10 years of being single, lasted 5 years. we just recently broke up. We are no on different playing fields and aren;t all wide-eyed and in wonder, as the first gentleman explained. Some of us have teenagers to contend with, while others never married or married and never had any kids, so its a pretty difficult situation to deal with all around. I wish only the best for all of us, everyone needs a companoin in this life.

Because of the battles, skirmishes, etc. I came out a champ! I've learned that life is w a y t o o short to get stuck in the all too easy blaming others rut (Parents, exes ...). My motto is a paraphrased Serenity Prayer...If you can do something about it then, DO IT! If you aren't prepared or willing to do something about it then FORGET it and move on with life! I am enjoying life more than ever but I'd really like to have someone in my life to share my riches with! It's not about the game it's how and why you play!

Hi everyone, life is to be shared...!

Never did I dream that I, too, would be starting over again in my 40's...quite a mid-life crisis, some people thought. All but my best friends thought I would "come to her senses", not realizing I already had! When I was ready to begin to think about a social, personal, perhaps intimate, life again, I found myself at a loss where to begin. My daughter, who was then living at home, told me to go get a life; my friends at work encouraged me to date, but working in the field I was in, there were no eligible, available men; it just didn't seem right to look for men at church (lol), and living in a college town, bars were no solution either. I did find, however, that the anonymity afforded by online personals made it possible for people to be dishonest about themselves. I have always been honest and tried to present a true picture through words as well as pictures, believing that any relationship, casual or committed, begins with honesty and trust. I am still using the 'Net to meet people, and have actually met some interesting men, enjoying their company and our mutual interests. I find that I am beginning to look for the one with whom I want to spend the rest of my time, sharing those emotional and physical intimacies that only committed couples do. Will it happen? I can't say; I will continue to do those things that bring me joy, make me a better person, and spend time with interesting people. If "he" is out there and we are fortunate enough to meet, it will be wonderful for us both. If not, I have a full life, ready to share, but complete in itself. I could not have said that in my 20's. I think I'm ready now, open to what's next...around the bend in the road.

I am yet another person who didn't expect to be where I am today. Divorced with children at almost 50 years old. Yes, I do get very lonely and yes, sometimes I cry about it (literally). But there is also a part of me that is so afraid of getting my heart ripped out once again that I make peace with being alone. I am not exactly comfortable with the online dating but sadly it IS my social life. I do wonder each and every day, what happened to my youth? It has passed quickly. It has passed us all quickly. So now what do we do? Suddenly we are middle aged and to be truthful, not crazy about dating again. Don't you wish you could just be past the dating and be in that comfortable relationship? One with a loving, affectionate, caring significant other? Is anyone else afraid that life has just passed you by? There has to be more than this! Right? So we find ourselves at the singles dating sites hoping to meet that person of our dreams. Well, I hope that each and every one of you accomplish this. Everyone deserves to be happy. Everyone.

I really enjoyed what Charles had to say. So true. Too bad he's not listed as one of my matches!

I can so identify with the first comment:( 1. Posted by Charles Thu, Sep 27, 2007, 11:39 am PDT ) Excellent synopsis of life as we know it now. Especially the part about chosing to live alone & forgo the chance of more disappointments in life. Being with someone for a long period of time you sometimes notice the personality changes but not the physical aspects. You see them as the same person you first fell in love with years ago, not noticing the lines, wrinkles, thinning hair or lack of it. You see them with your heart and not your eyes. When your eyes are finally opened, usually after some life shattering experience with that person, you see them as they truly are and it breaks your heart. Knowing that life has passed you buy and there is no going back to regain the life you have wasted & lost.

Well, Would you like to do something fun for a change.