What I'm Worth...

We're rounding an earth-shattering 7 weeks of successfully dating. I was thinking today about how wonderful things were going. I felt secure, safe, and completely spoiled! Never before have I been in such a stress-free type of relationship! The smattering of men I dated before Steve happened to be guys that I chased after. Needless to say, most of those men dated me or hung around me simply because they just didn't have any other option in a female companion. Most of the time, I got the "I can't date just one woman right now...I'm not ready to be exclusive" or "The timing is just off. We can just be close friends" yet they still want all the benefits of a relationship. Not one of them ever made me feel secure. Most of the time I was wondering what other women they were dating or when they would drop me for someone of a better quality. I certainly didn't feel safe! Half the time I wondered if they even saw me as a woman. If they would've, maybe they would've treated me like I were. As far as spoiled...that never would've happened. Previous men simply didn't want to put any effort into something they didn't really want long-term anyway.

Today, as I was thinking over these past dating experiences, I realized how fortunate I am to have someone that treats me how I should be treated. I equally love spoiling him as well...cooking happens to be one of his favorite ways to be spoiled. Then, who would've known a blanket with one of his favorite sports teams and a vintage version of Mario Brothers would leave him swooning over me! He's the one person I love spending every moment of free time with...and someone I can tell anything to. I wonder why I settled for less than what I'm worth for so long. I had so much to offer yet no one wanted it...because that meant something deeper than what they were willing to give.

Just like in relationships, we have to seize moments that are greater than the "just getting by" moments. Every chance you get to do something extraordinary should be the one thing you strive to accomplish. No matter what sort of person we imagine ourselves to be, we deserve so much greater in life and in love. I'm never going to get so comfortable in the base quality of what life has to offer when their are opportuities that haven't been experienced, people who haven't been met, and places that haven't been visited. If we allow ourselves to go through every day the same way we did the day before, we waste our lives on a repetitive set of experiences that leave us bored and depressed. We have the chance to determine the path of our day...and even our lives. If we allow ourselves to live the same, when we're too old to enjoy every experience or too limited to do as we wish, we'll end up dying with a lot of regrets. May we all live to the full extent of possibility and may every opportunity hold a new experience to fill our lives with a greater sense of wonder!