Quick Coffee Date, Anyone?
Newsday reported yesterday that “Single parents must juggle their desire for a social life with the demands of raising kids“… and yours truly put in her two cents.
Start slowly, says Rachel Sarah of Berkeley, Calif., who started dating again a year after her boyfriend walked out on her and their baby daughter, Mae, who turns 7 in April. Sarah chronicles her experiences in “Single Mom Seeking: Playdates, Blind Dates and Other Dispatches From the Dating World” (Seal Press), which was released last month.
“Once I started dating, my motto became quick coffee dates. Time is such a big factor for single parents. In 20 minutes, you can tell if you want a second date. In my experience, you don’t have to have a date that drags on three or four hours.”
Sarah says she found it important to have a support network. “Even before dating, I think it is crucial for all single parents to have a tribe,” says Sarah. Her “tribe” includes her sister and father, who baby-sit and even introduce her to men, and two best friends who also are single mothers with children around her daughter’s age. “We have dinner together every Wednesday night, and the girls play. We talk or e-mail every day,” she says.
Please write to me with your dating tips! I’d love to hear them.
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