Bratty Girl

Certain ladies shouldn't be touched with a 10-foot pole, no matter how hot they are. Instead of giving in to temptation, distract yourself from the desire. Take a class, help kids or take in a ballgame, but whatever you do, stay away from these women you can never date. Generally, the reason to avoid these ladies has nothing to do with the woman herself, but it has everything to do with her context in your life.

Read on for a list of 7 women you can never date, and save your reputation, your bank account, your job, and your friendships.

1- Your best friend's sister

The woman you know the best will often appeal to you the most. But if she is your best friend's sister, getting lucky can mean two months of fun followed by the need to move to another part of the city. She makes the “7 women you can never date” list because as soon as sis becomes sweetheart, you'll be walking on eggshells with your buddy. Gone are the days of complaining to your friend about your women troubles because the conflict of interest ruins the good times, and the first time you make a mess of things, he will likely want to beat your ass.

2- Your secretary

There are plenty of reasons to keep your mitts off the help. It can get you into all kinds of trouble -- legal and otherwise -- should the relationship go south. But even if the fling goes well, you have problems. You'll soon be tempted to push the limits of what you can get away with at work, perhaps in the janitor's closet. Love at the office is an enormous distraction from your work, especially if you are in charge of her. Others are always watching what you are doing. Worst of all, once the relationship ends, she will enjoy leverage over you, and may use it simply by gossiping about what happened in the aforementioned closet.

3- The ex-girlfriend

Ex-girlfriends are one of the 7 women you can never date. Yet, the ex-girlfriend becomes increasingly seductive as loneliness sets in. After several years of eating the only three meals you know how to prepare, you can easily get blown away when she follows up chicken parmesan one night with chicken marsala the next. She might clean your apartment one day while you were getting loaded at happy hour, and you'll want her there permanently. The loneliness will make you forget the reason the two of you broke up in the first place, but should you jump back into the relationship, those reasons will resurface in no time.

4- The hot trailer girl

Have you seen Maury Povich? Let that show be a warning to you if you are smitten by the hooker with a heart of gold. It's fool's gold -- the hot trailer girl is definitely one of the 7 girls you can never date. The scenario goes something like this: You were in the club enjoying the company of a young woman whose breasts were rubbing against you like two sea lions on a beach, and then you got confused. Enjoy the one-nighter, but the next time you see her at bar time, you would be wise to end up at Denny's eating a Grand Slam breakfast.

5- Your friend's ex

When you witness the breakup of your buddy and his hot girlfriend, your mind will invariably wander to a place better left untouched. Since you’ve spent lots of time around her, you already have an established relationship -- albeit a non-sexual one. Chances are you already imagined what it would be like while she was still dating your pal, and her new freedom may pique your interest, but be forewarned: She is one of the 7 women you can never date. If you value your friendship, avoid her at all costs. What men forget to consider is the aftermath of hooking up with a friend’s ex. The word will spread to everyone else in your circle about what type of friend you are, and you’ll kill your own reputation. It doesn’t matter how long ago they broke up, whether they’re friends now or not, if your buddy’s replaced her with a new girlfriend, the answer is always no. Unless, of course, you enjoy getting your ass kicked.

6- The high-maintenance piranha

If you value your money and your manhood, the high-maintenance chick is also one of the 7 women you can never date. She will love you for your increased earnings at first, but then will consider you to be a soulless workaholic incapable of intimacy. Once you've built up a nest egg, her divorced friends will start directing her on how to devour that nest egg whole, just like a snake. She will give you the screw of a lifetime, but not the kind you’re seeking.

7- The stripper

Of the women you can never date, the stripper is worse than the hot trailer girl. No, she is not stripping to pay for school. Yes, she might be a hard-luck case, but sooner or later you will be acting like a body guard, thinking you can protect her honor from a rowdy bachelor party. If you think jealousy is beneath you, wait until you observe a private dance from afar when the john offers an extra C-note for a happy ending.

AskMen.com

Sometimes when I walk among the world of the two legged, I see and hear many things. Often I have noticed that people get so caught up with their lives that they tend to miss out on the simple things that bring great joy, peace and a feeling of well being. The world and the events that take place around them cause them to become faint with worries and as they slowly lose themselves and become completely consumed by the things going on around them, they forget the simple things that bring inner peace and happiness.

Things such as feeling the gentle breeze upon their exposed flesh and as it blows through their hair gently tossing it from side to side. The sounds of the birds as they welcome the rising sun and the fragrance of the flowers after a gentle rain. I look around me and I see things great and small. I realize that they're a part of me and that I, too, am apart of them. We exist together for we are apart of all that is and all that remains. I walk hand in hand with my life mate and we have come to learn that if we lose ourselves in the fears and worries of the events that are so readily pushed upon us, we also lose track of who we are and where we're going.

Sometimes we must just stop and take time to smell the rose. We need to catch our breath and to just enjoy life and its simple pleasures. Today I walked into my back yard and though I could hear the siren of a police car and also that of an ambulance, I listened to the wind blowing through the palm trees and the birds as they sang. I watched the clouds as they drifted endlessly by on the bluest sky. Inside me I felt the flutter of my heart as it became as one with my surroundings. I felt the air rush into my lungs and for just a brief moment I heard my heart sing.

Are there times that you feel like you are a leaf that is blown by the wind?

You know, like you just go where the wind takes you. You just drift in space and have no say in whatever direction the wind wishes to take you. Maybe for a time you will feel so light and free that you might enjoy the ride, but do you know that when the wind got tired of you, she just tosses you back to the ground where you wither and people just trample over you.

It is very sad that many people are just like that. Their life has no direction. They have no goal in life. They just exist but not really living. They are like a smoke that disappears without a trace.

I hope people will take the time to pause and reflect on where their life is heading. I see and read about many young people waste their life on alcohol, drugs and sex. They do anything out of peer pressure. They like to be in, they said, not realizing that it is the way out of this world that they're heading. I hope, for their sake, that they stop before it's too late.

And so, my advice to them is never be like a leaf that is blown by the wind, rather be like a leaf that clings to the bough no matter how strong the wind may be. Hang in there and keep growing. Live and be fruitful.

Although my past is a combination of 50 percent failure and 50 percent success, I don't regret any of my past failures I've encountered in my life. But the good thing is failures are already a dead issue for me. If I'll drag past failures behind me, I can't gain momentum moving towards tomorrow. And I don't want to follow the footsteps of people who drag their failures and hurts with them wherever they go. And the result is, they have had never make any progress.

I made lot of mistakes in my life, or I had an especially difficult past with many obstacles. But thank God, with the learned right kind of attitude, I had surpassed them all by working my way through it and moving on. Other individuals who had overcome tragedies or mistakes to pursue their potentials, and well known personalities who fought back from adversity and become a successful person, inspired me to developed my potential to overcome past hurts and obstacles and continually grow with the right attitude and thinking towards obstacles and failures. Now I know that obstacles must not prevent me from reaching my potential and goal.

I remember a Spanish proverb says, “A person who does not look ahead remains behind”. That is true. Mistakes, hurts and failures from the past will remain if we do not look ahead. I mean focus creating solutions, not problems. Past mistakes create problems within our journey if we drag our past hurts. It will prevent us to move forward. We should focus on the future and use the past as a learning experience.

I’ve also learned that we should not let failures go to our heads. Instead of dwelling on the negative consequences of failure, we must learn from our mistakes and think about how we can improve our situation and ourselves. We should understand that failure could either bog us down or help us along our journey depending on our attitude towards it. A Failure remains a failure unless we don't learn from it. If we're not continually learning, we're going to make the same mistakes over and over again. It's okay if we fall down as long as we learn something as we get up.

Everyone has had failures from the past. The fact that we have been knocked down is interesting to others who are against us and those who don't believe on us (don't mind them). The important is the length of time we remain down and the things we learn while we're down and how we get up.

He is so discreet. He doesn't let his presence to be known. Waiting to see if she makes the first move, he waits ever so patiently. Just like one of her friends, not to be such a bother, or even think who he is. He takes you out of your shell and then with words, he'll make you melt in anticipation just so he can get his kicks from the girls with all the glitz.

This man is very sophisticated – mentally and physically. He wears designer labels, even tries to find that unique shirt and tie. He would try very much so to impress, let alone the way he would dress. He will listen to all your worries and problems, even offer you advice. He will tell you how much he thinks of you and what for you, he would do. The way he treats other women, he doesn't treat you, in fact it's with utter respect that he finds in you. He'll tell you that you are beautiful, smart and that you are a great person and that whoever has you is a very lucky person.

I don't know his name but I know in this world he can find fortune because he has the fame. I met him once, whoa! It was nice, he flattered me with his pride and charm, wittingly chatted a knowingly rhyme. He had me in such a spot; I thought it was heaven, him and me perfect if we could be. I just had a single doubt that something, somewhere wasn't right, like in a novel someone has to die. It was a flight to remember, a true escape from reality. Dreaming a fantasy of someone who could never be, here he was, chatting forever with me.

We talked for hours, losing a day at a time. It went so quick, faster than I could blink. Excitement got the better of me; I couldn't even do my job. I started to fall back in my work just like a slob. What was I honestly thinking? How long was this going to go on for? What happens next? Who is he, maybe he'll try and do something to me? No, he always said that I was this good, honest, beautiful person, which I did not really agree. Simply because I didn't know him and everything became blurry, all my favorite things, I didn't do anymore. Just him, glued like a young child playing a game, excited to talk to and thought that already knew, but that was just thoughts, what about reality? Where was I, up in a cloud away from the world? I tried to talk out aloud but couldn't because of him in my thoughts. Little did I know, but I had this hunch he is not Mr. Perfect nor a knight in shining armor – merely male as it is so.

Who, just who did he say he was? A male in disguise making rude remarks? No, not him he was far from that. Being the one who calls the shots, I was the one fired at! Wholly, I mean, whoa, what?!

Exactly, another intruder online, he tried but I mustered, and eventually gave up when I frankly told my story. He didn't know what hit him from behind, he had to look back and rescind.

This is a true online invasion of a male trying to pickup a female. So girls, read this, but don't weep, you'll be surprised at whom next you may meet.

Your ex-love gave her wedding invitation to you personally when suddenly a tear rolled down from your eyes. She wiped it immediately and said, “You’re the one I want to be with … but you didn’t fight for me.”

Up to where can you prove your love for someone? What will you do if that someone asks you, “Do you really love me?” Then tells you, “If yes, then set me free.”

“Time will come, you’ll get mad at me. Time will come, you’ll ask me why I left you. But when that time comes, this is all I have to say, “It’s not that I left you, it’s because you let me go.”

It’s hard to realize and to accept when the one you love has to go … it hurts but you say, “I can survive this.” But tears fall ’cause what you really mean is … “Oh God, what’s gonna happen to me?”

“When I die, there’s just one thing I ask … I hope you’re there crying for me. But on the other hand, never mind. Why? Coz I don’t wanna see you cry on the arms of someone else.”

“I wish I never met him. I wish I didn’t trust and hope too much. I wish I didn’t put myself up just to get hurt. But when I remember how much he made me happy, I go back to being stupid.”

“I was first hurt by someone I really love. I didn’t want to give up even if it hurts. But one day … I did. Why? Because I got so tired and exhausted. I realized how hard it is to love someone who’s not meant for you.”

“I fought for you because I love you. I didn’t give up on you even though it was difficult. But when you said to me, “Sorry, I’m tired,” my heart was shattered. Not because I saw everything I worked for go down the drain, but because you left me fighting alone.”

Letting go doesn’t always mean, “It’s over.” Breaking up would not mean, “I’ve had enough.” Instead, it’s as good as saying, “I don’t want to see you sad anymore, go on, you deserve someone better.”

“I feel sad when I don’t get to see you. I get hurt each time you ignore me. I’m jealous when I see you with somebody else. Gosh! I want to keep you all to myself. But then I realized … I don’t have the right. Coz you’re not mine.”

“Sometimes, even though you already love someone, it’s still possible to fall in love with somebody else. If that happens to you and you’re forced to choose … follow your heart and choose the person who you’ll be happy with. Even if it’s not me as long as you’re happy.”

“I loved you though I know it’s wrong. I waited for you for so long. I gave you my all until there’s nothing left for myself. I did everything for you. But is it enough for you to love me? Or is it enough for me finally give up?”

“I got tired of waiting for you… I don’t wanna get hurt anymore. So I’m gonna stop hoping and I’ll try to move on … but I’ll walk away slowly … real slow … so if by any chance you wanna stop me, you can still catch up.”

“I’ve done the bravest thing in my life. I let go of someone I love so much. But as I did the bravest thing, I never felt weaker. All I did was cry and wish that, “I hope I was never that brave.”

Loving someone can sometimes be exhausting. No matter how much you love a person, time will come when you have to give that person up, not because you don’t love him anymore, but because you’re hurting too much coz he can’t take care of you.

The world can be so damn confusing. You wait for the one you love. The one you don’t love waits for you. But the saddest thing of all … you love him, he loves you, but fate doesn’t want you to be together.

Did you ever love someone but you had to let them go? You thought they don’t love you, never cared. One day, you see that person again already with a kid. You ask them, “What’s the name of the kid?” they smiled and said, “Same as yours.”

“When you walked by, I told my friend, “I loved that guy.” My friend asked me, “So why did you let him go?” I answered, “If he were MINE, do you think I’ll ever let him go?”

When I was a child, I wanted to grow up and fall in love. Now that I’ve grown up and falling, how I wish I was still a child … coz it’s easier to heal a broken knee than a broken heart!

People say that love is the best gift anyone could give and have … my heart was crushed and I asked myself: “Isn’t it tragic when I’ve got so much love to give, yet no one seems to want it?”

Sometimes there would come a time when we have to stop loving someone. Why? Not because the person started hating us, but because we ran out of reasons to fight for what we feel.

“Teach me how to be strong before you go. Teach me how to believe if you ever lie. Teach me how to control my tears before I start to cry. And please, teach me how to make you stay before you say goodbye.”

It’s hard to live alone. It’s harder to choose someone to love. But the hardest part of loving is to admit that you’ve fallen for someone who can never be yours.

When you fall in love, don’t give everything without leaving something for yourself … someday, somehow, it would be too late for you to realize that you’ve given all for the wrong one, without saving something for the right one.

“I don’t run from you, I walk away slowly. And it kills me because you don’t care enough to stop me.”

Life is ironic! Sometimes you keep on crying even if the guy neglects you, but you get surprised one day that just when you stopped crying and found someone new, that’s when he starts crying over losing you.

Love that we cannot have is the one that lasts the longest, hurts the deepest and feels the strongest.

The worst feeling isn’t being lonely. It’s being forgotten by someone you could never forget.

It hurts when the one you love left you and said, “You deserve someone better.” Then all you can say is … “Maybe I do.” But deep inside you’re crying coz you know you can’t find “BETTER” when you already found the “BEST.”

There are things that are better left unexplained. Love. Pain. Betrayal. Heartbreak. The worst and most painful of experiences are oftentimes the hardest to explain. It is there right in front of you and yet you cannot seem to grasp it. Simply because it is difficult to even try to face it. And anything difficult discourages us. It is but human nature. And so we begin to drown ourselves in a sea of self-pity, loneliness and desolation, not knowing when it’s going to end or how. But it will end.

They say pain is inevitable, all of us will go through painful experiences in our lives, but misery, misery is optional. You make a reality check and you tell yourself you cannot stay miserable forever. Because somewhere in between, there is hope. And everywhere around you, there is life. You know that there will always be tomorrow, literally and figuratively, and the thought of it keeps you going, knowing that no matter how difficult life is today, there is hope that tomorrow just might be better.

Tomorrow is indeed very powerful, because it overcomes yesterday. Therefore it gives our lives more hope and meaning. They say the brightest future will always be based on forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. We have to let go, because bitterness often puts away our strengths and weakens the littlest hope, making our lives more miserable than ever.

I used to have a sad story to tell … and along with it were questions I desperately searched for answers. It’s about love, pain, betrayal and heartbreak. I could torture myself for the rest of my life and still never fully understand. But you see, some things are better left unexplained.

In your life, you’ll make note of a lot of people. Ones with whom you shared something special, ones who will always mean something. There’s the one you first kissed, the one you first loved, the one you lost your virginity to, the one you put on a pedestal, the one you’re with… and the one that got away.

Who is the one that got away? I guess it’s that person with who everything was great, everything was perfect, but the timing was just wrong. There was no fault in the person, there was no flaw in the chemistry, but the cards just didn’t fall the right way, I suppose.

I believe in the fact that ending up with someone, finding a longtime partner that is, does not lie merely in the other person. I can actually argue that an equal part, or maybe even the greater part, has to do with the matter of timing. It has to do with you being ready to settle down and commit to someone in a way that goes beyond the little niceties of giddy romance.

How often have you gone through it without even realizing it? When you’re not ready to commit in that mature manner, it doesn’t matter who you’re with, it just doesn’t work. Small problems become big; inconsequential become deal breakers simply because you’re not ready and it shows. It’s not that you and the person you’re with are no good; it’s just that it’s not yet right, and little things become the flashpoint of that fact.

Then one day you’re ready. You really are. And when this happens you’ll be ready to settle down with someone. He or she may not be the most perfect, they might not be the brightest star of romance to ever have burned in your life, but it’ll work because you’re ready. It’ll work because it’s the right time and you’ll make it work. And it’ll make sense, it really will.

So that day comes when you’re finally making sense of things, and you find yourself to be a different person. Things are different, your approach is different, you finally understand who you are and what you want, and you’ve become ready because the time has truly arrived. And mind you, there’s no telling when this day will come. Hopefully you’re single but you could be in a long-term relationship, you could be married with three kids, it doesn’t matter. All you know is that you’ve changed, and for some reason, the one that got away, is the first person you think about.

You’ll think about them because you’ll wonder, “What if they were here today?” You’ll wonder, “What if we were together now, with me as I am and not as I was?” That’s what the one that got away is. The biggest “What if?” you’ll have in your life.

If you’re married, you’ll just have to accept the fact that the one that got away, got away. Believe me, no matter how fairy tale you think your marriage is, this can happen to the best of us. But hopefully you’re mature enough to realize that you’re already with the one you’re with and this is just another test of your commitment, one which will just strengthen your marriage when you get past it. Sure, you’ll think about him/her every so often, but it’s alright. It’s never nice to live with a “might have been,” but it happens.

Maybe the one that got away is the one who’s already married. In which case it’s the same thing. You just have to accept and know that your memories of that person will probably bring a nice little smile to your lips in the future when you’re old and gray and reminiscing.

But if neither of that is the case, then it’s different. What do you do if it’s not yet too late? Simple…find him, find her. Because the very existence of a “one that got away” means that you’ll always wonder, what if you got that one?

Ask him out to coffee, ask her out to a movie, it doesn’t matter if you’ve dropped in from out of nowhere. You’d be surprised, you just might be “the one that got away” as well for the person who is your “the one that got away.”

You might drop in from out of nowhere and it won’t make a difference. If the timing is finally right, it’ll all just fall into place somehow and you know, I’m thinking, it would be a great feeling, in the end, to be able to say to someone, “Hey you, you’re the one that almost got away.”

Don’t be fooled by me. Don’t be fooled by the face I wear. For I wear a mask, I wear a thousand masks, masks that I’m afraid to take off and none of them is me. Pretending is an art that’s second nature with me. I give you the impression that I am secure, that all is sunny and unruffled with me, within as well as without, that confidence is my name and coolness is my game, that the water’s calm and I’m in command and that I need no one. But don’t believe me.

My surface may be smooth, but my surface is my mask, ever-varying and ever-concealing. Beneath lies no complacence. Beneath lies confusion, and fear, and aloneness. But I hide this. I don’t want anybody to know it. I panic at the thought of my weakness exposed. That’s why I frantically create a mask to hide behind – a nonchalant, sophisticated facade to help me pretend, to shield me from the glance that knows.

I know that such a glance is my salvation. I know that if it is followed by acceptance, if it’s followed by love, it’s the only thing that will assure me of what I can’t assure myself – that I am worth something, that I am lovable.

But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only hope, and I know it. That is, if it is followed by acceptance, if it is followed by love. It’s the only thing that can liberate me from myself from my own self-built prison walls from the barriers that I so painstakingly erect. It’s the only thing that will assure me of what I can’t assure myself, that I’m really worth something. But I don’t tell you this. I don’t dare to. I’m afraid to. I’m afraid you’ll think less of me, that you’ll laugh, and your laugh would kill me. I’m afraid that deep-down I’m nothing and that you will see this and reject me.

So I play my game, my desperate, pretending game, with a façade of assurance without, and a trembling child within. So begins the glittering but empty parade of Masks, and my life becomes a front. I tell you everything that’s really nothing, and nothing of what’s everything, of what’s crying within me. So when I’m going through my routine, do not be fooled by what I’m saying. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I’m not saying, what I’d like to be able to say, what for survival I need to say, but what I can’t say.

I don’t like hiding. I don’t like playing superficial phony games. I want to stop playing them. I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me but you’ve got to help me. You’ve got to hold out your hand even when that’s the last thing I seem to want. Only you can wipe away from my eyes the blank stare of the breathing dead. Only you can call me into aliveness. Each time you’re kind, and gentle, and encouraging, each time you try to understand because you really care, my heart begins to grow wings –very small wings, but wings!

With your power to touch me into feeling you can breathe life into me. I want you to know that. I want you to know how important you are to me, how you can be a creator–an honest-to-God creator — of the person that is me if you choose to. You alone can break down the wall behind which I tremble, you alone can remove my mask, you alone can release me from the shadow-world of panic, from my lonely prison, if you choose to. Please choose to.

Do not pass me by. It will not be easy for you. A long conviction of worthlessness builds strong walls. The nearer you approach me the blinder I may strike back. It’s irrational, but despite what the books may say about man often I am irrational. I fight against the very thing I cry out for. But I am told that love is stronger than strong walls and in this lies my hope. Please try to beat down those walls with firm hands but with gentle hands for a child is very sensitive.

Who am I, you may wonder? I am someone you know very well. For I am every man you meet and I am every woman you meet.

Charles C. Finn

She’s the one you call when you’re bored because she makes you laugh. She’s the one you talk to when you’re feeling down because she’s willing to lend an ear and be a friend. She’s not the one you call when you need a date to your company’s Christmas party, or to go dancing with on a Saturday night. She’s the one you spend time with between girlfriends, before you find "The One". You know, the one who you keep around in the meantime.

She’s not one of the guys, not a tomboy, but you don’t look at her as a "real" woman, either. She’s not bitchy enough, moody enough, or sexy enough to be seen in that light. She’s too laid-back, too easily amused by the same things your male buddies are amused by. She’s too understanding, too comfortable – she doesn’t make you feel nervous or excited the way a "real" woman does. But she’s cool, and nice, and funny, and attractive enough that when you’re lonely or horny and need intimate female companionship, she’ll do just fine. You don’t have to wine and dine her because she knows the real you already, and you don’t have any facades to keep up, no pretenses to preserve. You’re not trying to get anything of substance out of her. She’s not easy, but you know that she cares about you and is attracted to you, and that she’ll give you the intimacy you need. And you know you don’t have to explain yourself or the situation, that she’ll be able to cope with the fact that this isn’t the beginning of a relationship or that there’s any possibility that you have any real romantic feelings for her. It won’t bother her that you’ll get up in the morning, put on your pants, say goodbye, and go on a date with the woman you’ve been mooning over for weeks who finally agreed to go out with you. She’ll settle for a goodbye hug and a promise to call her and tell her how the date went. She’s just so cool . . . why can’t all women be like that?!

But deep down, if you really think about it (which you probably don’t because to you, the situation between the two of you isn’t important enough to merit any real thought), you know that it’s really not fair. You know that although she would never say it, it hurts her to know that despite all her good points and all the fun you two have, you don’t think she’s good enough to spend any real time with. Sure, it’s mostly her fault, because she doesn’t have to give in to your needs – she could play the hard-to-get bitch like the rest of them do, if she really wanted to. But you and she both know that she probably couldn’t pull it off. Maybe she’s too short, or a little overweight, or has a big birthmark on her forehead, or works at Taco Bell. Whatever the reason, somehow life has given her a lot of really great qualities but has left out the ones that men want (or think they want) in a woman. So she remains forever the funny friend, the steadfast companion, the secret lover, and you go on searching for your goddess who will somehow be everything you ever wanted in a woman.

She doesn’t captivate you with her beauty, or open doors with her smile. Mainly she blends in with the crowd. She’s safe. She doesn’t want to be the center of attention and turn the heads of everyone in the room. But she wants to turn someone’s head. She wants to be special to someone, too. We all do.

She has feelings. She has a heart. In fact, she probably has a bigger and better heart than any woman you’ve ever known because she’s had a front-row seat to The Mess That Is Your Life, and she likes you anyway. She obviously sees something worthwhile and redeeming in you because although you’ve given her nothing, absolutely no reason to still be around, she is.

Anyway, yeah. I’m a Meantime Girl. Been one more times than I care to admit. I don’t know the reason, really, and at this point I don’t even care. I just want to let every guy know who’s ever had the good fortune to have a Meantime Girl that we may be a lot of fun, but we cry, too. A lot. And someday we won’t be around.

Urban Dictionary

Every day since our childhoods, we’ve been picking up messaging and cues which have contributed to shaping our perception of The Ideal Man. Whether you based it off your father or another male figure that was very active in your life, what your mother told you was the ‘right guy’, or from movies, books, other media and interaction with the opposite sex, it is unavoidable that you have ended up building up beliefs and predetermined ideas about what a relationship and the man you have it with should ideally be like. The trouble is, isn’t there a point when we need to switch from fantasy to reality?

There is no such thing as a perfect man, that’s for damn sure, but as sure as the sun will rise and set tomorrow, I also know that we’re not in danger of coming across the perfect woman either. Perfection implies flawless and the very nature of being a human being with emotions that sometimes gets it right and at other times makes it wrong, means that it is impossible for a perfect specimen to exist. Even if you did meet someone that appeared to be perfect, you’d either spend a lot of your time wondering what the frigging catch was, or be incredibly disappointed when they acted ‘human’ or God forbid, screwed up.

If we keep on assuming that there is someone perfect to slot into our lives we’re setting ourselves up for a life of disappointment. This is no more likely to happen than we are to come across a ‘soulmate’ that thinks and acts exactly like we do, all of the time. Life throws curve balls which means that when our partner has an hour, day, week, month where he doesn’t think and act as we’d prefer, our false and exaggerated expectations will make us feel emotionally wounded and let down.

The very idea of a man expecting us to be perfect twenty four seven will make most women shudder and stamp their feet at their egotistical desire for perfection and it’s no different when we’re the ones that demand it. Whether you’ve got a master list of criteria in your head or are subconsciously chasing your dream vision of a man, you’re actually narrowing your field of vision, reducing the pool to fish from and setting yourself up for a fall from the giddy heights of great expectation. You’re effectively chasing something that doesn’t and will never exist.

The trouble with great expectations about the perfection of your partner is that you aren’t making allowances for the fact that they can and they will screw up. When you’re clocking up a list of characteristics of The Ideal Man, you don’t think ‘tall, dark, handsome, trustworthy, loving, caring, religious, shares the same aspirations and ambitions, strong values, wants to get married and have babies, leaves skidmarks in his pants, can’t tidy up to save his life, belches or farts without saying pardon, forgets anniversaries, sometimes doesn’t express what he feels and means very well, tries to fix instead of listening etc’. THAT is real life!

Until it becomes common day practice to buy a robot that can be and do all that you want, perfection will remain elusive and even if it came in the form of a robot, I’m sure that it would be subject to technical faults and loss of battery life. Yes, perfection really doesn’t exist for the task of relationships.

I wonder what love is…

Sometimes, it feels like sunshine on the perfect day. I just want to bask in it. But a shadow passes and it becomes a vengeful storm; I just want to get out of it. One day, I'm flying. Another day, I'm drowning. Then, I can't have enough of it – craving and bursting with insatiable desire. Soon, I'm sick to my heart and dying to tear away. Now, a welcome delight; streaming in like dawn through an open window. Quickly, a horror- ten thousand rivers washing my life away.

Tell me – which one of these tortured, conflicting emotions is love?

Is love an illusion then? An emotional blindfold that tricks you into a cruel commitment? If it has all ended so badly, tell me – what was it I felt when it was beginning? Love, eh? Fickle love. It teases you into deep waters and abandons you in the middle.

I'm sure all of that sounded quite familiar. Love is one wicked experience. After you've fed fat on a few romantic novels and watched a few movies, you go in thinking you are about to be launched up to cloud nine. “Cloud nine” turns out to be a tiny room with no windows, occupied by two people struggling to breathe.

How can something that felt so sweet at the beginning turn out to be so sour in the end? How can something that felt so natural at the beginning get to demand so much effort in the end? How can something that felt so filling at the beginning turn out to be so draining in the end? How can something turn out to be so different from what it felt like in the beginning?

The conclusion: love is left somewhere between dusk and dawn. It slipped out through the window, grew wings and flew away. Without its magic dust shading our vision, we see ourselves as we truly are – grossly inadequate, terribly irritating. It abandons us, strips the props from our beautifully constructed stage, leaving us to wallow in bare, grinding reality. It is, itself, like the wind – no telling when it will come or when it will go. So, when we commit to each other, we keep our fingers crossed, hoping that love stays to keep it sweet and beautiful.

I wish I could sit love down and have a chat with him. I'll tell him to stop popping in and popping out of peoples lives like it was a children's game. Don't you know lives are wrecked by your whimsical behavior? That's what I'll tell him. Stop picking people up, whirring them up to dizzying heights then letting them fall and dash themselves into a million pieces. Once you come, stay – damn it! We are at your mercy, o love! Once you come into our hearts, for heaven's sake – stay there forever.

Love is not a feeling, so don't bother asking which one of the million and one things you feel when you see an attractive man or woman – is love. None of them is. None of them is the sign that he or she is The One. Nothing you feel confirms the rightness of your urge to pursue them or guarantees the happiness of a future with them. The truth – the certainty you seek – is not in your feelings. They will always be what they are – temperamental, fickle and constantly changing. That is the eternal nature of our feelings.

Love is a choice. It is a decision you make after you've seen the facts. Love chooses. Love decides. It is not a mysterious charm or an over powering attraction that holds it down. Love is always free, never bound. It stays because it chooses to stay. It is not at the mercy of emotions it cannot control. It does not depend on feelings it cannot control. I tell you – love is the decision to be with someone and do whatever it takes to make it work.

It is not what you think in your head or feel in your heart. It is what works for the person you are living with. Deciding to discover what this is and to do it consistently, regardless of how you may feel on any given day, this is what love is. It is in this sense that the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:14). In plain English – God wanted to be with man and did what needed to be done to make it happen. We do not love because we feel; we love because we are willing and able to do what needs to be done to be with someone.

So the next time you wonder – is it love? Don't check how you feel. Look at the person – look at their needs and their expectations, their dreams and their aspirations, their weaknesses and their inadequacies – and ask yourself; am I willing and able to make this person happy?

We all think that love is all about the deep things in life – and that the strong bonds of love might be about the sacrifices that people make for each other. Well, love can be a little simpler than that.

A recent research conducted with 52 couples found that laughing strengthens the relationship. When people laugh at the same thing, they validate each other's opinions. Private jokes and pet names, things that others just don't get, strengthen ties between couples.

One of main reasons why people who laugh together find that they grow to have each other is because laughter is a pleasurable experience. The more positive memories you have, the more you love the other person.

If you have ever ate something and got sick and then decided from that time on not to eat the food again? Same thing applies to relationships that have a lot of negative images. Negative images add up to pull the relationship apart.

The second component of love is those secret little pet names and private jokes that no one else knows about. These little secrets help the couples feel that they are in a tight bond. It seems that they are likely in their own little world with their own language that no one else understands.

So, may I suggest that go ahead, create endearing yet funny and unusual pet names. Even "klunkhead" may evoke such giggling-inducing and warm associations with the moniker that only the two of you will hold dear.

As little girls we grow up dreaming of having the perfect fairytale. We imagine the man we’ll someday marry, how we’ll meet, how he’ll kiss, how he’ll propose. We have the complete love story planned out in our imaginations and, somehow, we believe every ounce of it. We have that remarkable innocence that allows us to see ourselves as grown women, trapped in a doorless tower with the longest blonde locks, awaiting our knight who will somehow rescue us and whisk us away to a castle in the clouds. Is it any wonder that, as we grow older and find our way through the minefield that is relationships, we end up disappointed? My question: is the man that we will eventually choose to marry ever going to be good enough to meet the high expectations we set as little girls? Will he ever be the perfect Prince Charming of our childhood dreams?

It is unclear why these unrealistic hopes are put into the open minds of us as children. Is it because childhoods are meant to be filled with hopefulness and happiness, regardless of whether it’s all based on a lie or not – just like Santa? As we grow into women and become experienced with the real dating scene, it is true to say most of us experience disappointment. The romance we had always imagined and dreamed of rarely materializes and our white knights are nowhere to be seen. We are forced to experience heartbreak, infidelity and loss – something never explained to us in those hundreds of fairytales. How do we ever expect to live Happily Ever After when we’re searching for something fictional?

In the past fifty years, the dating scene has changed dramatically. What once was white is now black and vice versa. But with these changes in society and acceptable behaviours, our fairytales have remained the same and not evolved with time, as they should. And so, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we rewrote the greatest stories of our childhoods. What if The End wasn’t at our first kiss but a couple of years on? What if we introduced the partner who cheated? The mother-in-law who thought we weren’t good enough for her son? An ex-love? Trust issues? A break-up? What then? It is my belief that we would go into our very first experience with love more open-minded with more realistic hopes of our future. We would know that it’s normal to have rough times as well as good times. And we would know not to expect – or even to secretly hope for – perfection, because nobody is perfect – not even our shining white knights.

What starts off as an innocent dream for six year-old girls results in discontentment and dissatisfaction. Many of us run at the first sign of trouble because ‘this isn’t how it’s supposed to be’. We somehow always believe that there is better out there, that we haven’t yet found our One – but that’s only because our vision of what should be is a work of our imagination and the memory of bedtime stories. Would it really be such a bad thing to face up the fact that love really isn’t flawless and simple? There isn’t always one bad witch who is easily defeated before we can run away and be happy; there are often more and they come regularly. Maybe we should be prepared for this as we grow so that bumps in the road are not unexpected and so that the men in our lives are valued and appreciated for what they are and not thrown away for what they aren’t.

The moral of the story: your foot doesn’t always pop with a first kiss and there is no such thing as a castle in the clouds. But learning your own special kiss – one that is just for the two of you – and building a home from scratch, together, and mending things after an argument, can bring much more happiness than even Snow White or Princess Aurora could ever have dreamed of. Now those are the things that fairytales should be made of.

I once believed that people were meant to fall in love, get married, have children and then live happily ever after. Now I realize that everyone’s boat floats for different reasons and I needed to find my own.

There was a time not too long ago when I believed that in order to be a whole person, and to feel like I had finally reached "womanhood" I would have to be in a serious relationship, or even better, engaged. I now realize what this belief was based on. It starts with a message that society sent me as soon as I was able to comprehend such things. That men and women were meant to fall in love, get married, and have children. I mean this is, after all, the "norm" of things.

To make matters worse, most of my close buddies from grade school have already gotten hitched and had children. Then of course there is the fact that I grew up watching Disney movies that always portrayed a damsel in distress that could not function as a normal person until she was "saved" by a gallant, handsome prince. Oh yeah, and they ALWAYS lived happily ever after.

So I spent most of my youth in and out of relationships, quickly realizing that Disney lied to me. Who were all of these villains? Where was my prince? I was always the one to end these relationships, mostly out of pure disappointment. I thought such things as, "Isn't he supposed to be charming? Isn't he supposed to have a great singing voice and take me for rides on his beautiful white stallion?" I settled for a sports bike and a nice car.

For a while I tried to convince myself that men would become more charming as they aged. They would mature and then be more in tune with their hearts, and finally understand what it is to sweep a lady off of her feet. I gave up when someone I was dating referred to his dog as his Valentine, and did nothing to show me otherwise. Well, I hope the two of them had a very romantic candlelight dinner and ended the night sharing their doggy-breath as they kissed.

I believe I have done my fair share of trying, and have resorted to enjoying my time alone. I look at the up side: I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and not have to explain it to anyone. I can sit in the shade with a book, drinking tea, and not have anyone interrupting me, or getting jealous that I would rather read than pluck their uni-brow. I do not need to worry about my feelings getting hurt by someone I decided to trust, who will only betray it one way or another.

I simply focus on the good parts of being single – like freedom – and the bad parts of relationships – like possessiveness. It really works, you know. I have realized that I do not need to strive for that dream of a prince. For that goal of living happily ever after with my one true love. I can be happy in the meantime just being me, and doing my own thing, and if someone should come along that catches my fancy and one thing should lead to another then so be it. But in the meantime, I have found other things to look forward to and enjoy. I have found pleasure in the single life. I will enjoy it while it lasts, however long that may be.

A Heavenly Angel was created and formed by the hands of God, a perfect creation. God said, “This is truly a one of a kind. I must now break the mold, because there shall not be another. No two things will ever be made alike. I am well pleased.” God was so pleased, that heaven also rejoiced with Him.

The Heavenly Angel was unique, beautiful, and she possessed the gift of touch. Her touch could melt mountains, and turn the hearts of men into pure gold. Her presence demanded the very best, because she, herself, gave her very best. She would meet or exceed all expectations.

One day, God heard a desperate cry from a man, who was lonely and very depressed. The man was fair looking and he had a lot of potential, he also had lots of love to give, but no one to share it with. So, God decided to send the Heavenly Angel to earth to lift this man's spirit.

God's intentions, was that the Heavenly Angel would comfort the man and return back to heaven, however, while upon the earth, something very unexpected took place. The man and the Heavenly Angel had fallen in love.

As God watched from heaven, He realized that the two of them made beautiful music together, they were deserving of one another. So, He sent word to the Heavenly Angel that if she so desired, she could stay with the man whom she loved. God also told her that love, joy, and happiness would be with them for eternity; and that He was well pleased with their union.

“For what God has joined together, let no man tear it apart.”

The Heavenly Angel and the man, are you and I!

Women from all walks of life are becoming more adamant about finding Mr. Right. Most of them agree that he has to be more than a guy that is disease free. Although meeting this criterion is essential in today's day and age, most women would also like a man who possess certain “qualities”. The trouble, it seems, is that some of you don't know which qualities qualify a man for keeper status. That's where I come in.

How many times have you been out with your girlfriends, having a good time, and looking completely divafied from head to toe? The DJ is worth the price of admission. The bartender has a heavy pour. And your buzz kicks in just as you notice someone checking you out. The two of you make eye contact, and you hope none of your girlfriends has seen him.

Then he approaches.

Your heart flutters. You try hard not to let him see how nervous you are, but you are sure he does anyway. He smiles and his teeth sparkle. You melt. He tells you his name and you likewise. Then he asks you to dance. What do you do?

I'm sure that in the past you wouldn't have wasted anytime with shoving aside your drink and poking your tongue at your friends while being led to the floor. But this isn't the past. You're looking for a good man now, remember? A man with “qualities”. And the first quality that you should be concerned with is:

Honesty

Instead of heading to the floor for a grind-and-sweat session, ask him to have a seat. No, you're not going to interrogate him; you're simply going to ask him a quick question or two that could save you a lot of heartache.

What questions you choose to ask are up to you. The most important thing here is how he responds. If he has a drink, watch what he does with it after you ask your question. If he places it between you and him, nine times out of ten he is using it as a subtle way of creating a barrier between you and the truth. Also, he may shift away from you. This is because liars have a hard time keeping their bodies directly in front of those they are lying to.

Now let's say he answers all of your questions without raising your suspicion. You two have that dance and it turns out he has great moves. You give him your number, and several days later, he calls and asks to take you out. What other quality should you be looking for next?

Conscientious

Pay attention. When he talks, does he appear to be thinking before he speaks? If so, then you are with a man who thinks enough of you not to be a potty-mouthed, pseudo-tough guy who thinks that using colorful language is the quickest way to get you in bed.

A man also has you at the forefront of his thoughts when, during dinner, he asks if you like what you ordered and if you would you like to try what's on his plate. Feel free to translate that any way you like.

Okay, now you know he's thinking of you. What next?

Sensitivity

Let me first say that a man is not being sensitive when you catch him in your panties. That guy is probably gay. What you want is a masculine man who is sensitive enough to acknowledge your feelings, right? Well, here's how to know if you have such a man.

A few weeks pass and the two of you are starting to get closer. Then one day you have a bad day at work. You need to vent and so you tell Mr. Right. If he's a jerk, he'll shrug and say, "That’s life". But if he's a MASCULINE MAN who is sensitive to your feelings, then he'll give you a hug and call you at work the next morning to make sure things are going smooth.

Or, let's say he has a bad day at work. A masculine man who is sensitive to your feelings will always greet you with a smile. He will do this because he is conscious of the fact that you may have had a bad day as well, and he doesn't want to add to it.

If the guy has made it this far, then he's probably good to go. He only needs one more for a perfect grade sheet.

Caring

You can't get a good read on this “quality” until you are in a situation that calls for him to really be there for you (picking you up from work instead of letting you catch a ride with a co-worker doesn't count). If you're as strong as I think you are, then there aren't many times when you need someone to handle your lightweight. However, life doesn't always throw you the same pitch. Every now and again, you get a curveball.

Sometimes you get sick.

I know, I know, you don't want to think about your last cold. The sore throat. The dull ache in your forehead and the back of your neck. Your body feeling like it's on fire one minute then freezing the next. Ugh! But times like this are perfect for finding out who really cares about you.

If the guy in your life does, then he will not have a problem fluffing your pillows just the way you like it. Neither will he have a problem with cooking your soup or crumbling your crackers into itty-bitty pieces that are more suitable for swallowing. And, just in case you can keep your eyes open for more than five minutes, he will make sure the remote is always within arms reach.

And there you have it. This is a solid foundation to build any relationship on. Sure, there are other “qualities” to look for, but I am sure if the guy you are with has those aforementioned, then everything else will fall in place. Whether or not you get to see the whole package depends on if you possess the “quality” men like to see in a woman...

Patience.

Ten unanswered phone calls, numerous text messages and no reply, but you're still not giving up. There's something about the bad boy that makes you keep chasing him, no matter how much he messes you around.

We've all been there, or at least met a guy like him. He's the guy who can't look after himself properly, let alone treat a girlfriend well. Yet he is rarely single or seen without a girl hanging off his arm.

He may be a bit of a player, even cheating on his girlfriends, but the bad boy has endless appeal.

You see, how good would it feel to be the one who finally tames him? The one who he's not going to stray from?

The only problem is, this guy is not going to be easy to pin down for long.

I'm all for the idea of playing hard to get to keep us on our toes and remain a little mysterious. However there's a big difference between treating us mean to keep us keen, and being just plain mean!

It can get pretty annoying when you spend lots of time, effort and phone credit pursuing the bad boy only to get nothing back in return but a broken heart.

So it's time to delete his number and look for Mr. Nice Guy. You know, the one who replies to your texts within 30 seconds of you sending it.

Thought not. He just doesn't have the same allure does he?

Surely one more text can't hurt.

After dating bad boys, sports enthusiasts, Wall Street types and every kind of guy in between, I found a rare group of men perfect for today’s American women – the cowboy.

The cowboy retains some of the old traditions and manners that are hard to find anymore. A cowboy will open a door for you, speak only respectably to you, and court you the old fashion way. If you are tired of the modern guy, try a cowboy.

1. The southern drawl is absolutely adorable.
2. He'll respond to almost anything you say with, “Yes, Ma'am.”
3. His tight jeans make his rear always on display.
4. Typically, cowboys are shy and like to take it slow.
5. Will work from sun up to sun down without a single compliant.
6. Works most the time with his shirt off.
7. Will take you on a romantic horseback ride.
8. Knows how to change a tire.
9. Doesn't mind when your hair and makeup are not done.
10. Knows how to use his hands.
11. Knows how to grill a mean t-bone steak.
12. Takes everything, “like a man.”
13. He respects his elders.
14. He looks great on a tractor.
15. He wants to go for a roll in the hay, literally.

So saddle up and head on out to the nearest rodeo and rope yourself a cowboy!

What if love is like a cake? This piece is for you, no really, keep it. And this piece is for you; don't eat it up all at once. This piece is for my first love, another for my second, another for my third, and another for that one I should never have loved but did. Am I going to run out of pieces?

I'm being serious! Is my heart now riddled with empty slices? What if I gave the whole cake to my first love, who returned it tattered and melted. It has got so much abuse how could I possibly love some as deeply, richly and perfectly as the first time. I don't want to swap my last pieces of tattered messy mud cake, for someone else's half eaten and spat out cherry cheesecake. At some point, do we all just out of cake?

Here I am, sitting on my balcony, depressed yet again about another love lost; I have started thinking and yet again theorizing the big LOVE thing. I think this theory is called paranoia. It's called fear. It's called the thought processes of anyone who has lost love. Are these very thoughts killing any chance we have to find new love? Are we scared that our slices are getting smaller? Smaller proportions of commitment are being given out because people are just too scared to commit the fat slice that still has the icing rose on it in case it gets thrown back into our face. My point is, should we just stop, give up, take the cake down from the window display and just savour those last few pieces for ourselves? Or is that selfish?

Fortunately for us, there are other interpretations of love. As you can tell my musings come from a dark place better know as the place we are left after a "break-up". After everything is discussed, analyzed and separated, after the fires have been put out, all that is left is the empty feeling inside. In some comfort, when I told my mother my "cake theory" she laughed in my face. She laughed at me, and showed me what happens when you apply the theory to the love you have for your kids. It is not like a mother gives separate slices - varying in size - to the children she has; she loves each of them the same.

And maybe laughing at me was what opened my eyes. In every relationship I was hurt equally as much every time, which proves I loved all of them as much as I could. I can love this person with all of my cake. I love my mother with all of my heart. As with the person I'm seeing. Same goes for my best friend too. Love is not sectioned off like slices, but given wholly multiple times, in varying degrees, to numerous people. But then again, that's just another theory isn't it?

All I know is, when it comes to break ups and the lonely place we all find ourselves after each one, it's nice to know that a theory out there can give me hope. Hope that everything might just be okay. Perhaps it won't be though. After all, a theory is only a theory.

You just start dating a guy. He likes you, you like him. You guys want to spend every second together. When you are not with him you are talking to him on the phone. You have deep feelings for him. The feelings keep developing. They keep growing. You begin to think this could be it. You begin to think I really think this is it for me….. You love being together. You can't stand being without each other. You start to feel like you have never felt before, and you do things for him you have never done before. He tells you he doesn’t want to be with you and only you. He tells you he adores you. He tells you u guys were meant for each other. You care for him. You are falling for him. You take things slow. You don't want to make any mistakes. You go slower with him than you have ever done before. You don't rush to introduce him to your friends, let alone anyone else. You want it to be right. You are feeling this and you feel this could mean something. He communicates with you. He thanks God you are in his life. You guys have fun together. You laugh together.

He talks about being and becoming serious with you. He talks about his desire to love you one day. He talks about he can't imagine not being with you. You think he's falling in love with you. But you can't be 100% sure. You guys have not said that sacred 4 letter word that starts with an "L". But you feel it deep, deep in you. Deeper than you have in a long time.

You ask him "are we moving too fast"? He replies "We are just following our hearts." You start to trust him. Something you have not done since your first heart break. How long ago was that? You wonder. Trust is something you vowed you would never do again. But slowly your heart comes out of its steel enclosure. You feel like you can trust him. You feel as if everything you went though was for a reason. And the reason was to meet him. Days turns into weeks. And he tells you about the connection you guys have in each others hearts.

Weeks turns into months and you slowly start to wean the other guys in your life out. And than it happens. No not the "L" word. But what you have been most afraid of. What deep in your heart you have been afraid to confront. What you always suspected would happen one day sooner or later. HE STOPS CALLING. You panic. But you try to stay calm. He did this before when you first started talking, but u tried to forget it. You knew u should have not forgotten. But u tried to ignore it. He disappears for a week with no phone call. No answer to yours no nothing. Finally you hear from him. You want to rage you want to scream you want to cry. But you can't help you heart from feeling a tad bit happy.

As you begin to ask him what happened he stops you. He says "I need space". You cringe at these words. This is the very reason you begin to think why your heart was in that steel enclosure. The reason you don't put your emotions your feelings, your heart into it. Because one day it always turns in to this day. But you are already too far out you are at the point of no return, you can't come back. You can't believe, although a piece of you does believe it. Space. How many time have you heard this before? Space? Weren't you giving him enough? Space. Hmmm you laugh because it's so ridiculous. You laugh because again you knew this day would come. Why did you not listen to that little voice inside your head telling you to "watch out and be careful". You laugh only because tears won't come.

You know its not you, but you can’t help but look at that man in the mirror. You can't help but pick yourself apart. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? And again and again you can't come up with the answer. Slowly as you try to focus on other things and think of other people you put you heart back into that steel case.

Tears finally come and they make you feel a little better, but the pain is piercing through your soul. The pain never hurts as bad as the first time. But all the same you can't help but feel hopeless, foolish. Your great chance to be with your soul mate has again somehow slipped and failed.

But eventually you know you will pick yourself up. Eventually you know you will try again. And eventually you know you will find the keys to you heart, but also in the back of your mind you think…. Will it happen again?

From Stand In These Shoes (I’m sure u have before) by Serena Williams