Cougartown

So I'm online one evening and I notice that I've got a new message. I click on his profile. "Wow, he's cute" I think to myself, and then I notice his age...
The message says "Hey where is this so-called cake?"
I email back "I'm not very good at sharing...but I'm working on it."
He then responds "Awww...not even one bite?"

Let's just call him: The Kid.
I think to myself, "well, he initiated the conversation, so why not?"
He's 26 years old!

Now ladies, let's discuss for a moment the term "Cougar".
Is there an age that you hit...say 45, when you're then considered a cougar? Or is it the age difference between the two of you that makes you a cougar? Yeah, I thought so too. Damn! I'm a cougar!

Immediately I can tell that we have some differences. He likes to snowboard. No seriously!
Last year I went tobagganing with my nephew, and I had a bruise on my butt for three weeks! That hill was slick. A sheet of ice really...very dangerous.
Instead of saying yes, he says "yuppers". LOL! What am I thinking?
He goes jogging every morning with his dog Comet. I think about jogging (sometimes) as I'm hitting the snooze button.

He's nice though, and he calls me sweetie. He says that he loves art, cooking and travelling. At least we have that in common, right?!

After talking one night on MSN, he asks me if I'd like to meet him for a drink Friday night. I say yes. He lives in the West and I live in the East, so we decide to meet in the middle. He suggests a nice area that's not too far from me, and says "Let's meet there around 10:00." I'm spotting another difference...usually I'm in bed by 10:00!! I think I can make an exception this time.

So we leave it at that, and I don't really hear from him that much...the odd text here and there. I'm thinking to myself "Wow, I don't really know very much about this guy at all." He never really talked about himself that much, like what he does or if he lives alone or has roommates. Then I think to myself..."What if this guy still lives at home?" Is that possible? I moved out of my parent's place when I was 17 to go to university. These days, 30 is the new 20...so now I'm not sure.

Cougar or no cougar I cannot date a guy who lives with his mother! That's ridiculous!
But I can't bring myself to ask him.

Ok, so now I'm thinking back over our conversations. I remember once he said that he was "taking the day off work to go up to his cottage to close it down for the year." Ok, so he didn't say "I'm taking the day off school" that's good.
One night he told me that he was making pasta. I remember because he said "yum yum" in the message. This guy is young! What am I doing?

What the hell! He's cute. Plus, more than anything I'm just so curious as to why he'd be interested in me...a 35 year old single mom. Then I think, "what if he never really looked at my profile" maybe he just looked at the small part (that you then click on to see the rest). Perhaps he just thought that I looked cute, and didn't really read further. Then I think, hmmm, he's never asked me about my son.

I have a feeling that this date is going to go terribly wrong.

Or...maybe he has a thing for older women. Ladies, we'll just have to wait and see.

Date Night:

He tells me that he'd like to meet in Yorkville, which is a trendy part of the city, and not too far for either of us to get to. So, I think "Hmm, maybe this guy has potential after all". He says that he's going to text me where to meet. I say that's fine.
So I'm getting dressed and this time, I feel that jeans are more my style being that he's a younger guy. So I choose my sexiest jeans to wear. I think for a moment about whether I should wear my Issey Miyake perfume...perhaps it'll be too much for him! Oh, well, I'll wear it.

I get his text, and he wants to meet at this sports bar/family restaurant. Usually, I leave the names of the places out, but ladies, this time I'm going to include it for full impact: Jack Astor's.
What? There is no way that there's a Jack Astor's in Yorkville. No way! So I Google it. It's not in Yorkville at all! It's close-by, but still. I have a bad feeling about this.

This time, I'm in no rush to get there. The weather is foul. So I decide to take a taxi. Even still, of course, I arrive exactly on time.

He's waiting with a drink at the bar. He's here before me. Hmmm. He sees me right away, and comes over to meet me. He's really tall. I like his clothes and he's wearing cool shoes, but I know instantly that I'm not attracted to him.
He goes in for a kiss on the cheek and we sit down at a table. The table has brown paper on it, and a plastic cup with crayons (for the kids). Oh man...Toto we're not in Yorkville anymore...

He never stops talking. He's one of those people who doesn't like those little moments of silence that natural conversations have. He just talks and talks and talks. In fact, I think this cougar makes him slightly nervous. I should eat him for my appetizer and then move on.

But no, I sit there in awe of how much he can talk about himself. Now he's talking about how he's unsure as to what direction he wants his life to go in. I think to myself "This is why my 'dating search' is strictly between the ages of 35-40. I know what I want,and I want the guy to know what he wants too. I have no time for this!

It's only been an hour and I'm looking for anyway out.

He works in retail, but is thinking of getting into photography (cheque please!).
He wants to be a wedding photographer! OMG. Why am I here? Well, I know why I'm here! I should have known better.

So I decide to give him some advice. I'm giving him career advice, what a hot date! I even tell him that I'll put him in touch with a friend of mine who's a professional photographer. That way, he could ask him what steps etc. he took in becoming a photographer. I just want out of this date.

I switch to water...and he still doesn't get the hint. He orders two more beers...and tries to kiss me over the table twice!
Finally I ask him about why he 'smiled' at me, considering that I'm older than him. He says that things like age don't bother him. I tell him that I never would have found him because I don't search for people his age, and that I'm not really interested...
He wants to know if I'd like to go to his cottage sometime.

Ok, have I been speaking in French this whole time?! I just told him that he basically has no chance, and that is what he says!

I tell him that he's a nice guy, but I'm just not interested because we're in two different stages of our lives and I'm looking for someone who has their life in order.
He wants to know if I'd like to go to a hockey game sometime because his family has season tickets. Still not getting the message. I thank him for the date and say that it's time for me to go. He says he'll talk to me tomorrow. Fine.

Just not getting it.
Maybe I should have taken advantage of the crayons on the table and drawn this guy a picture.