The Common Denominator

As Lexia’s roommate, friend, and confidant, this month’s post dedicated to her future spouse has got me thinking (by George, we have lift off). I haven’t been engaged (no pun intended) in much thought about dating or my future spouse lately, as family and career currently consume my thoughts. Which makes me think of the saying that relationships always happen when you are least expecting/looking for them. (If I pretend to not be looking but I really am, does that work?) I think this saying really means that when you’re anxiously involved in being happy, others are attracted to your confidence and your chances of meeting someone just increase. I don’t know if that applies to my current situation, but let’s move on.

Yesterday, I received an email from my mother:
Reghan,
This is a brother of a young man in our ward. They want to set him up with you if you are interested. He lives in Phoenix and is in real estate. His brother that is in our ward is very handsome and his wife is very friendly. They are excited about this.
Would you like to send him a picture?
Love, Mom

My mother received this email:
Here are a few pictures of (I’ll retain some confidentiality here). Please send some pictures of your daughter, if there is mutual interest we can exchange email addresses.
Thank you!

It seems pretty harmless and my mother made it very clear that there was absolutely no pressure to respond. So, I looked at the pictures. Okay, he’s cute. If I send him pictures of me, and he thinks that I’m cute, what next? We start emailing, find out we totally click over discussing music, movies, traveling, outdoor activities, the fact that I’ve visited Phoenix once, and that my aunt lives there. Just imagine it -- we meet over Christmas when he’s visiting family, I’m visiting family, and fall in love. What a great story.

It could happen, but that’s not the point. As I was thinking about why exactly this couple in my mother’s ward thought we should be set up, I realized that we shared the great common denominator:

I am “older and single;" he is “older and single."

Wow, that sounds like a perfect match! I mean I know how it feels to be “older and single”; I think it’s a real point of connection. These are lean times. My wonderful 80-something year old great aunt never married. She was a tall redheaded knock out with an angelic voice, and was that ripe age when all the boys went off to save the world from the destruction of WWII. Today she is totally active and in great shape: Monday - bowling, Tuesday - golf, Wednesday - movie night, you get the picture. No, really, this sweet young couple who emailed my mom is just looking out for their older brother, and I suppose I should be flattered. They know next to nothing about me and are willing to give me a chance. Should I do the same? As I approach the number 27 in a little over a month, I am definitely fitting into that “older” category. A girl’s 27 is like a guy’s 31, and all those interns feel a bit like my little brother (if I had a little brother).

In the past month, only guys I wouldn’t consider *normal enough to date have approached me for my phone number. This guy in Arizona is probably normal, but he lives in Arizona.

I really only have two criteria for my future husband: Normal in New York…where are you?


*Normal does not equal boring.

Reghan recently graduated with her Master’s in Dance Education from NYU. She resides in an 8' x 10', non air-conditioned New York apartment on the sixth floor of a walk-up building (i.e. no elevator). She enjoys shopping, pea-con pie, and cartwheels. If you’re an older and single male, feel free to send me your picture and I’ll be happy to pass it along to her.