When I met Mr. Jaunty, I was on a self-imposed dating hiatus. I outlined this concept on my old blog, way back in 2007.
BEHOLD:
Preparing for Mr. Fabulous
We have many common interests, my Man and I, and a long, long list of differences. Luckily, we know how to politely disagree. We do what we love, pursuing passions over money. We understand the vast importance of Personal Space. We care about education and self-improvement. We take good care of each other.
The Man I want is intelligent and articulate. He is gentle, sensible, and has a keen sense of humor. He is honest, loyal. Not perfect, mind you, just a good guy who keeps dreaming and trying. The older I get, the less I care what he looks like, as long as he’s pretty on the inside.
Am I asking the impossible? Not at all, I know a number of these men.
But…. but…. I don’t deserve my Man or anyone like him. I am unworthy to dust his spats.
I’ve long suspected that my True Equal is some snarling monster, living on the street. He probably steals purses and throws rocks at babies. He mispronounces the word “nuclear” and neglects to clean his nails.
Clearly, what I want and what I deserve are worlds apart. My goal is to bridge that gap, to make myself into the rare lady who deserves/demands a gentleman.
To this end, I am taking a year off from dating. A year for self-improvement, learning from my betters, a year to work hard and see what can be made out of this hulking mass of insecurities we call [Surname].
I have great faith in my potential. However…
This is my 4th attempt at Deliberate Singleness: The first three were all thwarted by intelligent, articulate men very much like the one described in the opening paragraph… I’m grateful for them and their persuasive ways. I had great fun and learned a lot from each of them.
Still, I get a lot more work done as a single gal. And a soul can survive only so many heartaches— I’m well past my limit. I want to grow up and get married someday, so I’m holding out for Mr. Right this time.
So to keep myself from being swayed by a Mr. Pretty Great as I wait for Mr. Fabulous, I am stating my intentions on WordPress, open to the world.
Will I be worthy of a gentleman by the year’s end? Heck no! But I’ll be closer, and Mr. Fabulous respects progress. If nothing else, I can put some distance between myself and my current True Equal, the cranky yeti.
I will make the most of what I’ve been given and prepare myself for this ambitious man. This is going to require serious prayer and a major decrease in Hours Spent Moping, but I’m tough, I can handle that.
With WordPress as my witness, so help me WordPress, I will do my best.
When I met Mr. Jaunty, I was only halfway through my self-imposed year of solitude. Developing a huge crush on the guy didn’t worry me; it seemed a harmless diversion, like badminton. After all, he was a fancy-pants, smooth-singing grad student and I was a lowly, warbling undergrad. Would he even notice a mousy girl like me?
He would.
He did.
By our third date, I truly believed I had found my Mr. Fabulous— whether or not I deserved him. Three years later, I still believe it.
So cute :) what a great post for Valentine’s day
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It warms the cockles of my heart to read about the happiness of my friends. And Mr. Jaunty just keeps getting better (although I will forever think of him as Mr. Ja-Nutty)!
Before I met The Rocket Scientist, I wrote out a list of all the qualities I wanted in a dude-friend. This wasn’t a send-your-thoughts-into-the-universe-ala-the-secret type of deal, as much as it was a way to remind myself WHY I was so choosy and had yet to date by age 25. So I wrote it all down, remembered why I didn’t want to go about kissing frogs, and then it’s like someone tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to him, and said “That one.” And that was that.
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Ya had me close to tearing up at the end there. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to prepare myself during those periods of singledom. Relationships take hearty effort and baggage slows your roll. But I don’t know that I would have listened to Future Me…
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Lori – Thank you! I COMPLETELY forgot I’d ever written this, but I found it when I was cleaning out a file. Good timing.
Katie – Ja-nutty? Did I leave a telltale typo somewhere, or have I forgotten a shared joke in my senility? Tell me, I can take it.
Yay for list-making! I was assigned to make Ideal Husband lists a few times as a teenager. At church. I still have one, and Ian’s a GREAT fit. You and TRS sound like a perfect match.
Angela – “Baggage slows your roll.” Lady, you speak only truth. Despite my efforts, I brought a HEAP of baggage to my current relationship. It takes awhile, but I’ve been able to shrug a lot of it off. Hang tight!
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Your typing is impeccable – I’m the one who, often when I try to write “Mr. Jaunty,” switch the “u” and “n” to create “Januty.” Which I think should be his rapper name.
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Rebekah Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 6:06 PM
Ah. Gotcha.
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