A Race to the Finish

And I am a little bit nervous.

In my last foray into this situation - Casey, another blast from the past - I had spent a good bit of time on the phone before our actual ill-fated date. And I'd liked him. But to be truthful, he'd not thrilled me on the phone. There wasn't anything glaring and heinous about our conversations per se; he wasn't unpleasant to talk to. But something didn't click. I did enjoy talking with him. I just wasn't dropping everything to make time to chat. That should have told me something.

So was it telling me something about Scott? To be truthful, we didn't have a lot to talk about. We really barely knew each other, and let's face it, who wants to rehash 30 year old high school camp fire stories.

But we didn't have anything current in common. So it felt awkward. I was beginning to think I could not trust my judgment. (Thank you J. and Casey for taking a woman with the confidence of a Presidential candidate and turning me into a self-doubting nerveen.)

But the day of the date finally arrived, and I had tons to do around the house and for Christmas (custody scheduling once again dictating what weekends I could devote to what holiday preparation.) I ran around like a chicken without a head for most of the day and at about 4 o'clock when I should have been taking a hot shower to make myself fabulous, I needed a nap.

Old people should not be allowed to date.

Scott and I hadn't really nailed down a time - which was odd because he had a 90 mile drive. He could be in his car right now while I am trying to decide whether to put on PJs and crash or put on a pot of coffee and plow through.

I text him. I tell him I need some Zs and ask if 7 is too late to come calling. I was thinking I'd make sure the house was presentable, take an hour nap, and then begin the transformation from Mall-weary to runway ready.

He texts back that it is not too late.

Good. Perfect.

Then not so perfect.

He asks if I still want to go out.

Uh-oh. He has reservations too. I am not warming the cockles of his heart on the phone with my witty banter either? I am a little taken aback.

If I wanted an out, this was it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I text, "Of course I do. Why do you ask?"

He replied that I was at the end of a long day (long week, long relationship, long life, no diff...).

I replied that I am still game - he was the one with the 2 hour driving commitment.

So we were on...and my head is on the pillow nearly at once.

But I am a little nervous that we are about to embark on what we'd both consider a big date mistake. A lot can happen in 30 years.

A lot of really horrible things can happen in 30 years. Fat, baldness, bad habits, ill-advised fashion preferences, socially unacceptable attitudes, and yes, weird speech patterns, a stupid sense of humor and atrocious oral hygiene, thank you Casey.

But I awake an hour later feeling remarkably refreshed and rejuvenated. Downed a cup of iced coffee and jumped into the shower to begin the metamorphosis for the Big Date.