In Alison Armstrong’s second book, Making Sense of Men: A Woman’s Guide to a Lifetime of Love, Care and Attention from All Men, she discusses common misconceptions women have about men’s intentions and how to know if a man is just interested in sex or to have a more meaningful relationship. She calls the latter…
Month: March 2008
Working through the hiccups
In every relationship, no matter how great, there are some hiccups: occasional miscommunication, unmet expectations, hurt and/or disappointment. The test for any couple is how these hiccups are dealt with. Even a budding relationship has missteps as you get to know each other’s patterns, preferences and perspectives. It’s like dancing with a new partner —…
Pros and cons of expectations
I once read a quote, “The source of all disappointment is unmet expectations.” Perhaps unmet hope fits in there too, since all hope isn’t an expectation. In the beginning — and sometimes past beginning — of a relationship there are unspoken expectations on both sides. You expect he’ll treat you with respect, honor your spoken…
Is your guy’s loving muscle strong?
I’m talking about his willingness and ability to regularly show caring, affection and love, whether to you or others. I’ve noticed that men I’m dating who are used to showing their love to their parents, children, friends, church members, etc., are more able to express their love to me. They are unembarrassed about conveying their…
Paying for the sins of predecessors
Men have told me it isn’t fair when a women judges them based on behaviors of previous suitors. Ideally we all want to be assessed as individuals, not lumped into “men do this” or “women do that” stereotypes. Yet it is difficult to not take into account past lessons from collective experiences with the opposite…
Dating with disabilities
DG reader Sherri asks: I recently met a man online who had one arm. We talked on email and by phone for about a month before meeting because we live 60 miles apart. When I finally met him, he was cute, funny, smart — but I could not get past the disability, which was more…
DG interview on dating after 40
Recently I was interviewed by Ronnie Ann Ryan, dating coach and author of MANifesting Mr. Right, who specializes in helping woman 40 and over find love, for her interview series “Decoding Dating.” Ronnie and I share many of the same attitudes about dating and methods for meeting prospects. We had a very fun conversation. She…
Clothes make the man
Nearly eighteen months ago a man sent me an email on a dating site where I wasn’t a member. Although he was in the right geographic, age and height range, his pictures showed an unsmiling, sunglasses-wearing, goatee-sporting man in a sports-team T-shirt holding up a newspaper with an unreadable headline. Huh? This is the best…
Edelman pays its coworkers to go on a “date”
Is Edelman encouraging fraternization? Helping relieve the stress of single workers trying to find a mate by pairing them with each other? Starting an internal dating service for their nearly 3,100 employees worldwide? No. They’re using the dating concept with a unique spin. The new Blind Date program begins this week. While it might kindle…
Getting to know a man through Google
A new man contacted me who held some allure so I promptly did a Google search, armed only with his profile’s unusual alias and his city. A wealth of information was divulged. I read the posting he’d made in public forums so could see his comments were thoughtful, articulate, and had correct spelling and punctuation….
Do you like yourself better now?
“I like you better now than when you were married,” a professional acquaintance shared recently. It was a surprising statement from someone I didn’t know well. But it got me thinking. How am I different than I was 5 years ago when my ex left? What has caused the change? Do I like me more…