red blooded American male
no fucking rules!
got it?
none of your girlfriends timelines (nor his buddies)
be upfront, open and honest , if a guy won't accept that, good, cast him aside

before i started dating after divorce, i thought a lot about the type of relationship that i wanted, what i was willing to compromise on, what i would not. after a couple of dates, i put such out there. i didn't want to "spark" with a mismatch

i guess, i'd say, define the path you want to walk, see if someone is like minded

Red blooded American female and I agree! I don’t think it’s all that different from dating at other times in life except after a certain age some people maybe less inclined to want to marry. But otherwise I think the advantage to being older is knowing who you are and what you want so you don’t end up settling. I think you have to be yourself, be open and just be ok with knowing not all men are going to want the same thing so in that case you do have to get comfortable with moving on when it’s evident they are not right for you.

Thank you all!!! I have learned alot from dating the last 7 years (especially lately). There are some people that only want one thing and don't care about anything else. And I'm sure that is ok if both agree to it. Just need to let the expectations be known. I'm not saying make an impossible checklist for the first date but you kinda have to let the other person know a little. Even since I first posted the question I have learned many things. Some men (and women) can be asses. They expect certain things but don't give them back. And then turn into a jerk. But I am trying to talk more. I figure if I can get a man talking then maybe there is more of a "dating future"there. If it's all about attraction and hooking up then that's prolly all its gonna be. Sometimes that is nice but sometimes it hurts when they get tired of you. Anyway I have a date with a really nice down to earth guy tonight. We will see what happens. We have been talking for about a week. Several hours at night which is so unlike me or anyone else I know. So Im cautiously excited. Ill let yall know how it goes. Thanks for listening and responding.

Have fun!!

It went ok..i think I need to take a break from dating though lol

I'm in the exact same boat as you Artchick...

It sucks, I know.

It's easier said than done but I really need a few months of no dating to get my head straight. We will see I guess.

Nothing wrong with that; a little internal housekeeping is good thing!