The Season For Loving (II)

Hello and happy Friday to you, riders! What follows is the second installment in the series entitled "The Season For Loving," a collection of love/romance/dating related writings that will take us all the way up to Valentine's Day (assuming, that is, that I have enough love/romance/dating related thoughts to last that long). We'll see.

Today's topic: The Dating Time Delay

Romance and dating don't come easily to most people. It is rarely straightforward enough for a person to come up with and stick to a "winning system." Of course, some have more success than others for various reasons. In much the same way, some have greater difficulty for various reasons. One key reason that I have failed to reach my full potential in this arena is the dating time delay. I don't really ever know what's going on.

Please don't take that to mean that I don't pay attention or don't care what is happening. I'm very much tuned in. Somehow, though, the information that I take in through my experiences often doesn't process for quite some time. I would estimate that I am usually about 3 months behind on understanding what is happening to me in the romantic realm.

For instance...

(end of a date, at the girl's front door)
Her: (smiling) I had a really great time. I really love being with you.
Me: (also smiling, but in a much more goofy way) Me, too.
Her: Really?
Me: Really.
(she closes her eyes and leans forward to await kiss. I pat her on the back and say...)
Me: I'll talk to you soon.
(then I start to walk back to my car. Halfway there I look back to smile as if to say, "I really do like you." She forces a smile as if to say, "I think I like you, but what the hell's wrong with you?")

About 3 months later...

Me: Wait a minute! I think (her) likes me! But that's weird, because I haven't seen her in like... 3 months. Hmmm...

The Dating Time Delay is a syndrome from which I fear many men (and possibly women, too) suffer. It is time to educate the general public about this debilitating condition so that sufferers don't miss out on everything and so that those who have been hurt by a sufferer don't think themselves unlovable. So, if you think you've been burned by someone who seemed to like you, but didn't do anything about it, give him/her a little time. Be patient. It'll come to him/her eventually. Well, that is, unless they really didn't like you, in which case... um, sorry?