Flashback

Saturday afternoon, I judged tryouts for my high school’s dance team, a team I was on all four years of HS. I’ve only been back to my high school a handful of times since I graduated 9 years ago. (Crap…that means it’s reunion time next summer…note to self: start the diet now.) It was a trip. I first tried out for the team as an eighth grader THIRTEEN YEARS AGO! Doesn’t seem like that long ago. It made me miss being part of a team, dancing all the time, learning & perfecting new routines, performing at games, going to camp & competitions, etc. We had such a good time.

My friend J also judged, and during a break told me she had someone she wanted to set me up with. This is the friend who is hoping I meet someone local this summer, fall in love, and never leave….0.0001% chance of that happening. Anyway, I’m open to being set up, going on dates with new boys is fun, so I ask her what he’s like. “Well, he’s single, he’s a cop, he’s single, he’s not hot but he’s not bad looking, he’s single, he has a 14 year old kid, he’s single, I think he’s taller than you, he’s single, he’s friends with my neighbor (whom J can’t stand?), he’s nice, and oh, he’s single.” So other than the fact that he’s single, are there any compelling reasons why you think we’d be a good match? Thanks, but no thanks. I know it’s weird to be almost 28 and never married here in our pretty little valley, but getting out of the valley means your taste in men becomes a lot more discriminating. Being single and having steady employment are only two of the many minimum requirements to get on this ride. And the older I get, the more discriminating I get. Ladies, repeat after me…there is nothing wrong with being single. It’s fun to date and enjoy your 20’s with friends. Why hurry up the rest of your life, it’ll come soon enough.

As for my concern with the valley rumor mill, turns out it’s not unfounded. My friend J told me that one of my good friends from high school K (whom I ran into at the gym a couple weeks ago) even asked her if there was more to the story of me being home than what I told her. Ah, life in a small town…is it August yet?