This weekend I created a profile on match.com. Look out dating world! Mama’s coming in hot. Actually it’s for a friend who is single, but she wanted help. She even gave me her password and wants me to weigh in on her prospects. So naturally, I am using it as an excuse to peruse the local dating inventory.
I never did the online dating thing. I signed up for match.com when I was single, but before I could muster the courage to pull the trigger and make it official, I met my future husband. Sweet relief!
My husband and I know several people who have met and married their partners through online dating, including my sister, which is partly why my we gave our friend a gentle-but-probably-annoying nudge to re-sign up (she has done it in the past). Clearly it can work, right?
However now that we are four days into this online dating experiment, I’m feeling a tad skeptical. My friend has people ‘winking’ at her and contacting her, but I don’t think there’s much match material yet. I can tell she feels the same. Last night she texted me that she will not be responding to any suitor who has the word “rough” in his ID name. Even if it’s spelled “ruff.” I think that’s fair and prudent.
Then again, I suppose this is how it works in ‘real life’ too. Lord knows I had my share of mismatches, or just zero matches, before I stumbled on The One. I was never very good at putting myself out there or pursuing a love interest. My dating strategy went something like, “He’s cute, so I’ll go to the opposite side of the room and never make eye contact.” It’s weird how that never worked out for me.
The internet makes it both easier and harder to find someone. You have a larger pool of prospects, and fancy algorithms to help you hone in on your type, but you still have to dig deep and be willing to put yourself out there in a way that is even more public. It takes guts. You can’t help but applaud everyone who does it for making the effort. You also can’t help but want to edit some of their profiles. Yes I’m talking to you, Mr. Ruff.
We’ll see how it goes. I’m cheering for my friend and hoping she finds someone worthy of her awesomeness – whether he’s in the computer or elsewhere.
Banana Wheels 
I totally did that for a friend of mine, too! Only it was a guy friend. I had his password and would screen women for him, weeding out the crazies (like the one who collected teddy bears). Found one who looked promising, and he is now married to her. Boom!
Nice! That’s the kind of inspirational story I needed to hear.
My son was about 10 at the time and was greatly disturbed that I was on Match.com, even though I explained it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t even looking at profiles of men!