HERE WE GO AGAIN...TALES FROM THE WORLD OF DATING!!

(This blog post is dedicated to all those women out there who have their own dating horror story to tell. This also goes out to Meari
who I can totally relate to!!)


It was the year 2000, and I found myself back on the dating scene for the first time in over 13 years. Boy, how things had changed. I was no longer eligible for the high school crowd and having a status of separated with children made dating very interesting not to mention challenging. Little did I know how much dating had changed in 13 short years.

I decided to embark on internet dating. I didn't go to clubs and didn't believe in finding or meeting "The One" in that environment. So I searched the web and perused a few different dating sites and decided on one in particular. I posted a profile, a pic and was ready to go! Before I knew it I was meeting guys left and right who would check out my profile and email me. This was fun...or so I thought until I met Cecil. Cecil was a looker to say the least. He and I hit it off. Cecil was a smooth talker and before I could get really comfortable in the relationship, Cecil was buying me jewelry, nice gifts, flowers, etc. (Okay...so I was suddenly separated and the gifts and attention flattered me. ) What I didn't realize is Cecil was a con artist and he was seeking his next permanent mate.

Cecil lived about 1.5 hours from me and he didn't seem to have any trouble driving the distance. This was incredible I thought. Ever heard if its too good to be true, it probably is? This was all well and good until one Sunday afternoon Cecil decided to visit unannounced with his 5 year old son in tow. I was put in an incredible position because I didn't want to be rude, my kids were at home and after all he had his son with him. But it infuriated me.!!! How dare he intrude on my Sunday afternoon and time with my kids unannounced as if he owned me and the situation at hand. RED FLAG #1 & the first new rule of dating in a world after 13 years of marriage. DON'T SHOW UP AT SOMEONE'S HOME YOU HAVEN'T BEEN DATING LONG UNANNOUNCED!

Okay...so he came to visit unannounced. I overlooked the mishap and decided he must really like me to drive all that way AND bring his son. We continued to see one another and during the time of getting to know one another Cecil had discussed his ex-wife and marital situation which was no biggie as I had been through similar circumstances so I could relate. What I didn't know or realize is that Cecil left out a lot of details about his past.

I took Cecil to visit my dad and stepmom. This was the first time my parents had met Cecil. I never knew until after the fact, that my dad got a bad vibe from him in that initial meeting, so much so, that he took the time to have Cecil checked out. My brother had also met Cecil and one day in talking to my brother he said in passing that even though Cecil seemed like a nice guy, maybe it might be a good idea to check him out. Mind you I still didn't know at that time that my dad had already checked him out and he had done so by having my brother who was in law enforcement look into Cecil's background.

I took my brother's advice to heart and checked out ole Cecil. Well....remember what I said about if something is too good to be true then it probably is? Well...it seems that Cecil had been married not once but twice. That was a minor detail he left out...still no biggie. However, both ex-wives had filed domestic violence charges against Cecil..a BIG detail he forgot to mention. The real shocker was learning that Cecil's dad had pulled time in prison for MURDER. He must have had a complete memory lapse on that one. Wonder where he got the violent streak from? Needless to say, I never saw a violent moment in all the time that I dated Cecil and would not have guessed that Cecil was a violent person whatsoever. My guess is he was saving it for the honeymoon.

I'm very thankful to this day that my dad has the sense of perception when it comes to people that he does. He and my brother saved me from making a terrible mistake. And as far as Cecil goes...I kicked him to the curb shortly after I learned the truth. I also said goodbye to internet dating.