Looking for a Boyfriend

     Today, I was talking with someone that always challenges my thinking, and sometimes forces me to go deep into my feelings, emotions, the rationale for my actions, and other places that sometimes I don't feel like visiting. In a nonchalant manner she asked me, "when are you going to have a boyfriend...a real boyfriend, not the pretend or look alike that you think you have sometimes?" She is tough!  That's not the first time someone ask me that question. Actually, someone have asked me that question at least once a day for the last four to five years. I laughed like I usually do, and my answer is always the same...When I finish school.

     We discuss that topic for a while and she was relentless, so she asked me have you thought about what you would like that boyfriend to be like? Well, is not like I haven't had plently of time to think about it. Hahahaha...I have been apart from my ex-husband since 2007, and I have not been involved in a bilaterally committed relationship since.  No, I am not traumatized, bitter, or given up....I am just too busy...strong headed and perhaps slightly selective.

     She kept pushing, and she asked me to come up with a list of qualifications ..."in preparation to enter the dating scene". That's sounds scary, its a jungle out there.

     I thought of some of my friends who made wonderful lists and even posters of the qualities they wanted in their future mates and the thought they put into it. They even read books about it in preparation. I thought of the possibility of cloning people I like, but after all that thinking I came up with this:

In the deep level: I want a man that is loving, kind, HONEST, TRANSPARENT, unselfish, great listener, strong spirit and personality but NEVER overpowering, someone that will treat my kids like a a part of me, fun, trustworthy, loyal, intelligent, confident.
                        
 In the shallow level: He should be a good dresser, fit, good looking, clean cut, professional, great teeth and some other qualities that I will rather keep private.
                         
In the team level: I want a man that will not block my growth (because it will not last) but will enjoy it with me, will NOT attempt to slow me down, is patient (a necessity to  protect his health), will NOT try to change me after he gets a foot in the door (because he could be heading out pretty quickly), I want someone that is not expecting a traditional "wife", because I am NOT a traditional woman.

     It seems like I am pretty demanding, but I don't think I am. I have been divorce twice, and I want to find a partner for life, NOT a boyfriend. Any man could be a boyfriend but it takes a very special man to become THE ONE... that person that you want to have in your life forever, not because he is perfect but because he loves and respects you for who are. That man that is considerate of his actions affect you and is always mindful of that. The qualities in the "shallow pile" are all negotiable, but the others aren't. Not all have to be present, but most of them have to be. If many of those qualities are absent we still may be able to have a relationship but not a lifetime partnership.

    I am worth it, and I don't settle for OK or average.  You may have notice that I never use the word NEED, because in reality I don't need a man, ot a husband or a boyfriedn...I want one.

And yes, I may want to remarried one day, but like the Michael Buble song says "I haven't met you yet".




                   

I Am Tired of Being Tired

   As I am reaching mid semester, tiredness has become part of existence. I have tried Ginseng, B-complex, energy drinks, 5- hr energy shots, coffee, and coffee with shots of espresso, and any combination of the above, and nothing seems to work. At times I am aware that I meet the criteria for caffeine intoxication. I don't even enjoy that cup of coffee any more, because it has become a necessity and not a pleasure like it used to be. I need it to stay awake and functional. I sleep more than ever- about 4-6 hrs a night and for a doctoral student that's golden.  It seems like the quality of the sleep has declined, since I wake up feeling more tired than before I went to bed.

I am so tired or being tired!

    In class today, I had a hard time concentrating. My thoughts were speeding, and I was thinking of my "special project" that I haven't start, the six research interviews that I have scheduled for tomorrow, my research presentation and paper,  my "special project" presentation, my chores list, my grocery shopping list, and many more things. I looked at the professor but couldn't decipher his words because my thoughts were on the way. 

   School work is piling up, and feels like a giant mountain in front of me. The more I work the bigger the mountain gets, and it's suppose to be the other way around. I continue to sacrifice people, including my children and I hope they understand. I am afraid one of these days they are going to ask me who am I. Is devastating when your own kids ask "why are you home early?"

  I laughed when someone told me that I was lucky. I remembered a quote I read a while back that said: "The more I work the luckier I get". What I have isn't called luck, but discipline and commitment...to my cause. And what is that cause? Improving myself to the highest level possible, and do what other women in my family weren't able to do because times were different. 

  In May I will look back at this great journey and will celebrate my accomplishment.