First time poster here, I’ve been lurking and posting comments for about a week or so. I’ve seen a few posts from others having the same issue I am so apologies if you’re tired of reading. 😆 I’m at a bit of a loss and hoping this doesn’t turn into a ramble session, so here goes.

I’m 44, never been married, no kids. I consider myself to be a very social, honest and just a good person to have around…and I’m certain the people in my life would say the same. I’ve been single for about 6 years now, lost my dad 5 years ago and I’ve only been on a few dates since then for a few reasons. Part of that being the grief process and feeling as though I need to have myself together before I can really be in a relationship, but then a lot of it is not really knowing how to “put myself out there,” which is what my friends have told me I should do. I started doing OLD initially in the late 90s and realized a few years back that that arena has changed immensely in the way of expectations and general dishonesty. However, I have tried to give it a chance. I’ve met a few people, but things were less than ideal. From married people to catfish to one who stood me up (literally left me sitting in a restaurant after we’d been talking for about a week over text and the phone), my experience hasn’t been great.

So all that to say I’m pretty gun shy now and not sure which direction to take. I don’t really meet people the “traditional” way for any other purpose than platonic (which the pandemic obviously made worse), part of that has to do with me being a military brat in Alabama and having different views than a lot of people think I should have (which is another show in itself😂). I get the “Why are you single? You’re such a catch!” all the time, but here I am talking to strangers on the internet about being single.

TL;DR At this stage in my life, being a very social and open and outgoing person, I feel like a hamster on a wheel who may soon become a spinster. Anybody have any advice and/or in the same situation and want to talk about it?

Thank you for reading all this, I appreciate you taking the time and hope I haven’t bored you too much! 😂🥰