There’s nothing more awkward than dating as a single parent. Between doing the job of both parents, having a career, finding time to exercise, and making time for your friends and family, where do we find the time to meet potential partners? And where do we even meet these potential partners?
With age comes wisdom. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to prioritize how and where I spread my energy. Meaning, if it is important to me and it’s good for my soul, I’ll make time for it. If not, I don’t even bother. I believe that on-line dating is a perfect way to practice this. You can scan who appears interesting enough to engage in conversation with, and you don’t even have to leave your couch. So if you do meet someone and it doesn’t work out, you don’t have to feel bad about wasting a lot of time on that person; hence, prioritizing my energy.
The summer before Isaac (the love of my life) and I got together, I partook in some brief on-line dating. Towards the end of my short-lived, on-line dating experience, I hated it. I was so done that I no longer hired baby sitters so I could go on dates. If someone wanted to meet me I would literally tell him, “Well, my son and I are doing this on this day, so you can meet us there, if you want.” More than usual they wouldn’t come to meet us, thank goodness. And if they did meet us, it was because they were a single parent as well. If there happen to be a connection, there was potential to book an actual date, if not it was easy to say goodbye. No harm, no foul.
My very last on-line date was spent at the San Antonio Zoo. Of course, Zared never knew that we were there to meet someone I met on-line. I would never tell him that. As far as he was concerned, “We were going to meet friends.”
There are some things you just don’t need to tell your kids. And besides, it’s only serious if you make it serious.
I packed us a lunch of Turmeric Apple Chicken Salad, and left it in a cooler in the car just in case we got hungry. We walked through the gate to look for the alligators when I got the text that the date arrived with his 6 year-old daughter. We met them at the front, and sure enough, it was crazy awkward. Not only did he act completely different than he did when we talked on the phone, he also looked nothing like he did in his featured pictures. I assumed that it was his nerves that caused this behavior, however he was rude (no excuse for that). He sighed a lot and rolled his eyes. So annoying. His daughter was sweet, but she was crazy hyper active. It annoyed my then, 8 year-old Zared. But because of how his daughter acted, he would yell at her, loudly. So loud that it made Zared and me extremely uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but give him death glares. After he called his daughter “stupid” I had enough. We didn’t even make it past 12 pm.
“You guys want to get lunch?” He asked.
“No we brought a lunch. We’re going to go to the car to eat it, and then going home. We’re tired. Bye,” I said as I grabbed Zared’s hand and ran off.
Never again! I thought to myself. That was awful!!
“Mom, where are we going?”
“Don’t worry babe, just keep running until I tell you to stop.”
30 seconds later…..
“Mom, can we stop now. It’s hot.”
“Yeah babe, sorry. You hungry for lunch?”
“No.”
“Me either. Let’s go get some water and find those alligators!”
See? No harm, no foul…..
Turmeric Apple Chicken Salad
Ingredients
1 lb skinless and boneless chicken thighs (or 1 whole rotisserie chicken already cooked)
2 gala apples, chopped in small pieces
1 red onion, small dice, divided
1 clove of garlic, minced (chopped small)
2 celery stalks, sliced on a bias
Small piece of ginger, peeled. You will need a grater to grate ginger into the salad – teaspoon worth
2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos, divided
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
1 lemon, zest and juice, divided
1 tablespoon cilantro, divided
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoons Himalayan salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
Prep Time: 35 minutes Yields: 4 Servings
Method
1. Preheat over to 425 degrees.
2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place the chicken thighs on top. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to each thigh. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of liquid aminos amongst the chicken, and then add the garlic and a half of lemon zest and juice to the chicken. Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes.
3. Prepare all of the vegetables as listed above. Combine all of the ingredients (except for chicken) including remaining aminos, lemon, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
4. When chicken is finished cooking, allow it to cool on cooling rack for 10 minutes.
5. When chicken is cooled off, shred it into the bowl and combine it with the other ingredients. Toss together and add salt and pepper as needed.
6. Serve as a lettuce wrap, with cucumber slices, with whole grain crackers, as a sandwich with gluten-free bread, or as is.