I tossed his phone into his lap and let out “Damn. Nicole, the one from NY, is really looking for you” while the phone was in midair. I fired off 1 or 2 more passive aggressive comments before I left the room. The idea that another woman could be looking for him, during our time was almost repulsive.
I’ll admit it, this nicknaming is also a bit of defense mechanism. As author Sara Ashley O’Brien describes here, “she thinks women do it to keep men at an emotional arm’s length—so it’s not as painful if the relationship fizzles out (especially when you have to tell your girlfriends that, no, you haven’t heard from Bowling Guy in more than two weeks).”
How do you write a book? Where do you start? How do I get published? Is my writing even good enough to get published? What are successful authors writing about? What category do I want to write in? Do I need a ghost writer? A co-author?
Books have this distinct ability to draw an automatic connection between two people. It’s kind of like the “smokers” section… but way cooler. I’m beginning to discover that if I’m meeting someone for the first time and we can find a mutual interest in a particular book we’ve read, it’s an automatic jumpstart on the relationship.
This year I’m celebrating another Valentine’s Day without you, but I cannot wait to spend a lifetime of them with you in our future. I imagine waking up next to you on this special day and thanking God. I will thank him for every year I woke up alone because it was that time that he was preparing us both. I will look over at you while you are still sleeping but I say a quick prayer over you.
I usually meet that comment with my normal eye roll and a fake chuckle. I’m so used to hearing it now that I’ve actually thrown out my entire defense. I’m sad to admit that as much as I hate that “picky” label, I just quietly accept it. I’m told my tastes will mature as I get older. I won’t care about things as frivolous as clean sneakers or how he says goodbye when he hangs up the phone.
Today, I turn 31 years old. I told myself I was going to keep the number associated with this birthday quiet, but I’ll be honest, as ugly as the number sounds. I’m excited to see what 31 brings.
We began talking and quite frankly I can't remember much of the conversation, but a bit out of nowhere she asked me "Do you still miss him Ashley?"
About a year and a half ago a gentleman slid into my DM's. Although his page was private, I could still gather a bit about him. He was obviously some type of boxer. His icon picture was one of him in the ring with the whole get up on, championship belt included. His bio said something along the lines of “Boxing is not a hobby, It’s a lifestyle.” He had listed his hometown, he was from the south,
Last month, I was complaining to a coworker about how I had felt like I would look up after 3-4 hours of work and feel like I accomplished about 10% of what I had imagined. She quite enthusiastically recommended that I give the Pomodoro technique a go.
