I struck up a conversation with someone today while having lunch. This person had been married 26 years and after many years of living as co-parents waiting for the kids to grow up, she decided to leave. I didn’t ask for details as we had barely started speaking. However, he did say that he had been sleeping on the couch for the last 4 years and now was feeling like he was waking up from a real long nap, that’s how alive he felt. It was like this was the first day of the rest of his life and he was excited about it. Of course, going back to the dating scene after so long created anxiety for him, but excitement as well. He said he had joined a dating site the day before, had no idea how they worked, but he was stepping into the arena.

Afterwards I was thinking of this guy… he sounded a lot like… me, and other women I know. I guess in some respects, women and men don’t differ that much when it comes to starting over and feeling vulnerable. I guess guys have to take it one day at a time and breathe… just like we do!