Singleness, a tooth explosion, finding love and discovering what really matters during…

Summary

A single 37-year-old man reflects on his evolving dating life during self-isolation, reconnecting with a childhood acquaintance, and the impact of a health crisis on his perspective.

Abstract

The author of a dating blog shares his journey of navigating relationships during the quarantine period. Initially, he found himself at a loss for content due to the limitations imposed by self-isolation. However, he recounts his experiences of connecting with a woman who lived next door to his grandmother for over 50 years, developing their relationship through messaging and phone calls despite the distance between them. The narrative also delves into a significant health scare he faced a year prior, involving severe sinus infections and a tooth explosion during an NBA game, leading to multiple operations and a pause in his dating life. The author contrasts this past experience with the current global pause due to the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of health and the opportunity to deepen relationships through technology.

Opinions

The author values honesty and vulnerability in his dating life and blog content.
He appreciates the old-fashioned approach to dating but also embraces modern dating methods like swiping on dating apps.
The author believes in making everyday interactions, such as FaceTiming and watching TV shows together, more engaging and captivating.
He acknowledges the challenge of creating compelling content for his blog during the quarantine but is determined to maintain quality for his readers.
The author emphasizes the significance of health, stating it as a "marvelous thing," and appreciates the increased communication with family and friends during the pandemic.
He finds humor and irony in life's pauses, recognizing that they can bring what truly matters into focus.

The title says it all, am I right?!

I started writing a dating blog almost a year ago. Single guy, 37, and transparency were what drew people in. I’ve always been open and vulnerable about all phases of my life so being honest in my dating life wasn’t a stretch either. It was easy to write dating stories because well, dating as a single, Christian, world traveler, working in the NBA 37 year old, there are plenty of stories to tell.

I’m old fashioned, I’ll ask a girl out in a coffee shop or meet someone on the street. But I’m also not afraid to swipe left and swipe right which always gives loads of interesting content.

But then something happened. Around Christmas time, I was 2,500 miles away from where I live and I reconnected with a gal I had only met previously in passing, it was my grandmother’s next door neighbor’s granddaughter. Yes, you got that correct, my grandma and her grandma had been next door neighbors for over 50 years. We had only met a few times in life, mostly at my grandmother’s birthday parties, she lived until 104.

We started messaging on Instagram and there was a good energy between us. We kept asking questions and when I flew home to Oregon from Indiana, she told me to let her know when I landed and that she wished I didn’t live so far away. The door was open and we started messaging more often on our phones and then talking on the phone and eventually flying back and forth from Indiana and Oregon.

And then the world got quarantined.

So as I wrote my dating blog this week, I was literally stuck. As in, what can I even write about this week?

I’d written the updates of us FaceTiming (I know, doesn’t seem thrilling, but I can use words to make it more captivating lol), working through arguments and disagreements, watching This Is Us each afternoon together… yeah, I mean that’s about it each day. Also, I had written updates about my roommates trying to online date even though NO ONE is dating right now, so that would only take up so much space as well. And people pay me $3 a month to read that stuff so I better be producing some quality content!

So I felt like the only thing to do was to ask myself what I was doing a year ago and write my story from there.

A year ago, even though I was already 36, I couldn’t really think about dating. I mean, that’s odd, right? Yes, but something was happening… my tooth was about to explode. Yes, you heard that correctly as well. I didn’t know it at the time but I knew it, I knew something was wrong. For about 6 months, I’d had a severe sinus infection, fever, anxiety, hives and so on. I’d been to specialist after specialist as well as the dentist and everyone told me it was just a severe sinus infection that would pass in time. But it never did. Until one night, I was sitting in the stands during Game 6 of the Trail Blazers vs Nuggets in the NBA’s Western Conference Semi-Finals when my tooth burst and split in half. I went to find our Team Trainer at halftime and asked if I could see a dentist. He called the dentist and they set me up for a further examination the next morning.

Okay, well, we probably don’t need to hear more about teeth. Short synopsis, multiple operations, ANOTHER tooth explosion, tens of thousands of dollars in bills, and I’m healthy again.

So yeah, I wasn’t really up for dating during that season of life.

Life paused.

Just like it’s pausing now.

Just in a different way.

Then, I tried to get through the day as best as I could, managing the pain, and making it until tomorrow.

Now, even though the world has paused, my relationships and friendships can still flourish. Health is a marvelous thing. My girlfriend and I FaceTime multiple times a day, I speak with my parents and sisters on the phone more than ever and I even talk awkwardly to friends I hadn’t spoken to in years, just because there is time to do so. And when I get ready to text someone Happy Birthday, I just go ahead and call them instead because why not?!

Life is funny in that way.

Sometimes it has to stop for the important things to matter most.

Singleness, a tooth explosion, finding love and discovering what really matters during self-isolation

The title says it all, am I right?!