I crossed paths with an old boss last week. It was nice to catch up with him and hear how things had gone since his transfer to a different office.  He's doing well with his transition in Texas.  His family enjoys the area, he still enjoys his job. He was in town for his nieces wedding.

Funny thing is, because of a few minor developments at work, I'd been thinking about this ex-boss a bit.  He's the boss that hired me.  He's the one that saw my potential for the open position that wasn't entry level, even though I had no experience.  He's the one who rolled the dice against the advice of the more tenured employees and hired me. 

We talked about work, my prospects for school, and then he asked that question. Y'know, the one people want to ask but aren't sure if you're gonna freak out or not?

“So, are you dating anyone?”

I laughed. “No, not really.”  He was surprised.  Like, eyes-as-big-as-dessert-plates surprised. (They weren't quite big enough to be called dinner plates.) And he even said as much. Hands in the air and a shake of the head to match.

“I can't believe you're not married yet! I'm very surprised.”

Um, how am I supposed to answer that?? I'm still not sure, but I did laugh and say something like “yeah, so's everyone else.”

But I'm not. I'm not surprised at all.  

Kinda like when I was volunteering at the Pride Fesitval and the forklift driver (who was married, I met his wife and she was a doll!) exlaimed “I just can't get over the fact that you're single!”  I laughed then too. My response? “I guess I'm picky.”

You see, I decided a while ago that I would rather spend the rest of my life as a single person than spend another day in a relationship I didn't want to be in.

And three years later I still agree.