Caroline (not her real name) joined our agency a year ago. She was looking at internet dating sites and searching for a dating agency in the Tipperary, Limerick and general Munster area and came across us. She had tried a stint at internet dating but found that she couldn’t face into scrolling through on line profiles after a day of sitting in front of a computer at work. She’s a single professional lady in the mid-30 age bracket and she was looking for someone not older than 42 with a view to marriage and a family all going well. Over the year that she’s been a member of our agency she has accepted introductions with four guys. One lasted no longer than just one date; the two others lasted a few weeks each. The 4th guy, however is gone past the six month mark and she can’t believe how well they are getting on together!
Up to six months ago her emphasis was on the maximum age being 42 as well as other priorities such as having a big athletic build, at least 5’10” in height and a professional career. She doggedly stuck to this list as being crucial to finding compatibility with a potential partner. However, when the present guy came on our books he was coming close to his 47th birthday and was a “slim Jim” rather than her preferred bigger build that she admires in guys. Neither did he have what she would call a “professional” career! However, she loved his profile based on a few things: they both were passionate about running and cycling and he had a lovely warm, irresistible smile in his photograph. She also noted that on his profile he described himself as confident and streetwise, two traits she admires in people. After much deliberation she decided to meet him and hoped that his slim frame wouldn’t be a turn off. She was also concerned that the fact he didn’t have a similar career path to her would mean they wouldn’t have a “meeting of minds”.
As it turned out her fears were unfounded! They hit it off from the get go! Even though he had left school before finishing his leaving cert, he was an extremely intelligent and clued in individual and also had a very strong work ethic. He was only a few inches taller than her and about the same weight but she got used to this and after a while it didn’t bother her at all. The fact he was five years outside her ideal age bracket didn’t matter either as he had a larger than life personality, was extremely youthful in his ways and very liberal in his thinking.
They’re discussing moving in together before Christmas and she shudders when she thinks about how close she came to never meeting him. If she had stuck to her original list of things that she thought were important to her in a partner, they never would have met. She’s so relieved that she loved his warm smile and was open minded enough to give it a go. She has reaped the rewards over and over again!
So when you’re thinking about what you’re looking for in a partner, be careful that you don’t pigeon hole yourself into some narrow place in your mind because you could miss out on someone who might be right under your nose!