Valentine's Day Table for One

Most of the time I am pretty content to be alone, but not on Valentine’s Day. Going to dinner alone on Valentine’s Day is like one giraffe showing up to board the Ark: they may let you in, but you are definitely going to stand out in the crowd.

The only thing that quells the loneliness I feel during this holiday dedicated to love is making a mental review of some of the online dates I have had over the past year. How can I forget the man who showed up for our first date over twenty minutes late… with wet hair? He did make up for his tardiness, however, by providing me with one of the best worst first date lines in recorded history. When I told the waitress I was not interested in having a second margarita because I was driving, he exclaimed, “Have as many as you want! I brought the camper just in case.”

Striking out in my own backyard, I decided to extend my reach by starting an online correspondence with a man who lives a good three-hour drive from my home. Mr. X told me to “dress up” because he was going to take me to a “fancy” restaurant. When I asked a friend who lives in his area what she thought of the place, she replied, “ I think I know it. Isn’t it under the freeway just past the Tiburon exit?” It turns out it wasn’t under the freeway, it was next to the freeway, but I digress. My date showed up late, walked in the door with a half empty bottle of wine, sans cork, looked at me and said, “Why are you so dressed up?”

After splitting a dinner salad with him at the bar (he wasn’t that hungry), eating half a basket of bread (he wasn’t that hungry, except for free bread), and finishing a glass of wine (not enough), I decided to pull the plug on this love connection.

Next I went out with a man for almost a whole entire month. I really liked him and I thought the feeling was mutual. That all changed, however, when he went out of town for the weekend and called upon his return to tell me he didn’t want to see me again. When I asked him to be up front about why, he said that it wasn’t me, it was him. This statement was in fact true: it was him… not wanting to go out with me.

The following day I suspended my online profile until I figure out how to sit happily both within myself, and by myself.

A final word to all the other mothers out there who also find themselves in the ‘table for one’ stage this Valentine’s Day, whether by choice or by chance. I want to gently remind you that there is a loving community here at Mamapedia, and you are welcome to pull up a chair and join us anytime.

Cathy Kobre is a new member of the Mamasource team. She lives in Carmel, California, with her twin teenage daughters and Japanese Chin, Penny.