Confessions of an Internet Dater

By Elizabeth Ann Peterson

It took a certain amount of strength to accept that a life alone was a better life. Then it took time to decide that a life alone would be better if shared with the person I love, only --- I hadnt found him yet. The process of finding my perfect man was emotionally exhausting and fraught with anxiety about what lay ahead. Did my perfect man even exist? If only life had fast-forward and rewind buttons. Alas! Thats not how life works! I just had to plunge in, keep looking for what I wanted, sorting and sifting, hoping the right man would find me and love me back. And he did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479789467

Book preview

Confessions

Of an

Internet

Dater

By

Elizabeth Ann Peterson

Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth Ann Peterson.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013902009

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4797-8945-0

            Softcover    978-1-4797-8944-3

            Ebook         978-1-4797-8946-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without

permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a true story. Names and identifying information have been changed. The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author and Xlibris Publishing shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Chapter    Just the Facts

Chapter 2   The Real Estate Broker

Chapter 3   Dr. Weekly

Chapter 4   The Dentist

Chapter 5   The Articulate Lawyer

Chapter 6   The Pharmacist

Chapter 7   The Man I Almost Met Twice

Chapter 8   The Dating Game

Chapter 9   The Crotch-Rocket Rider

Chapter 10   The Orthodontist

Chapter 11   The Businessman

Chapter 12   The Deep Thinking Lawyer

Chapter 13   The Insurance Salesman

Chapter 14   The Cyclist

Chapter 15   The Minimalist

Chapter 16   The Accountant

Chapter 17   The Perfect Man

Seven Men Who Were Perfect for Someone Else

Six Lessons Painfully Learned

Epilogue

T his is dedicated to my kids and my husband. You fill my life with laughter and meaning. You love me no matter what, and you like me just the way I am. I strive to reciprocate with the same gift of love, acceptance, and encouragement every day.

L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

What is essential is invisible to the eye.

From The Little Prince

by

Antoine deSaint-Exupery

Synopsis

I t took a certain amount of strength to accept that a life alone was a better life. Then it took time to decide that a life alone would be better if shared with the person I love, only—I hadn’t found him yet.

The process of finding my perfect man was emotionally exhausting and fraught with anxiety about what lay ahead. Did my perfect man even exist? If only life had fast-forward and rewind buttons. Alas! That’s not how life works! I just had to plunge in, keep looking for what I wanted, sorting and sifting, hoping the right man would find me and love me back. And he did.

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~ Chapter 1~

Just the Facts

"T able for one, Miss?"

No, I’m meeting someone. I’ll wait at the table for him, please, I replied. I had become very used to this, feeling comfortable sitting by myself, reading the paper, until my date arrived. At least this is what I told myself. Some self-talk and a little feigned confidence had been serving me well during the last few years. Today was a double-header: Breakfast with a financial man who was super-nice on the phone last night, and coffee later this afternoon with a local community college instructor.

I had always wanted to be married, and had planned on having the most successful marriage ever. How did that not happen? I was a naïve 22 year-old marrying a 22 year-old young man. I matured into a wised-up 45 year-old. My husband ripened into a 45 year-old overweight alcoholic who was fired for smoking at his workplace. How in the world do people grow up to be such polar opposites? Some of the answers mattered and some of them didn’t. I was ready to start over. It wouldn’t be the same, but I still had a chance at happiness for the second half of my life. I would search for this man. Was it possible to find a man and live happily ever after? Yes! It had to be possible. Fifty percent of marriages were successful and my glass was half full.

How would I find this man? The internet was the obvious place to start. A Google search returned tons of dating sites and the choices were wide open. Did I want a free dating website? Plentyoffish.com would fill the bill. Did I want to go for an older fellow? Seniorpeoplemeet.com. I didn’t do much hesitating; my progenitors were robust and adventurous and I learned well.

My parents were aspiring medical missionaries. They started their missionary career in Paris, where they stopped to learn the French language through immersion and have their second baby before going on to the African mission field. In those days overseas and foreign travel involved big boats, small planes, and Land Rovers. They utilized all three modes to arrive at their destination in Ferkessedougou, Ivory Coast. They were an altruistic young couple and they were associated with a conservative foreign mission group.