And They Lived Happily Ever After

WOW.
Ladies, dreams really do come true.
SC and I are engaged after 13 months of dating. I am moving out to Seattle in 2 weeks and while leaving my current city is scary, I am genuinely thrilled to be taking this next step in my life. On the other hand, I feel like I'm leaving a very special "tribe" of single women who have consoled me and/or celebrated with me about the ups and downs of dating over the last few years.

As my last post (and of course, I decide to do this at 1 am and have to work tomorrow), I feel compelled to leave a few parting words to the rest of the tribe of singletons about lessons I've learned.

Lesson #1: Listen to your gut.
This is so cliche but my adventure with SC made this very real to me. After he and I got engaged over Memorial Day weekend, I flipped back through some old journals to find out when I first thought he was "the one." It was about 8 years ago. I'm not lying -- I started crying when I reread my journal entry. All the reasons I listed back then as to why I liked him, were all the same reasons why I love him today. My gut told me to invite him to Israel and while I knew it was a risky move, it was a risky move I was willing to take.

Lesson #2: Don't compromise your standards -- at least not the truly worthwhile ones.
Think about the fabulous life you are capable of creating for yourself, entirely on your own. Now think seriously about the quality of life you would have if you were with your crush long term. Would his presence greatly enhance the fabulousness (is that even a word?) of your life that you know you can experience on your own? If the answer is "no," then do not waste your time. If the answer is "yes," then the guy is probably a keeper.

Lesson #3: Develop your own dating metacognition.
In education, we talk a lot about metacognition -- which is basically thinking about your thinking. The same idea can and should be applied to dating. What are your strengths when it comes to dating? What are some common mistakes you've made? What parts of dating are most important to you? What did you learn from your last relationship and how can those lessons help you be even more confident in your next relationship? Date smarter, not harder.

Well, that's it from me. Thanks for reading my blog and being my own set of therapists. You've been awesome. Must go pack...