1-3 Dates – No contact needed
4-7 Dates – Short email or call
7+ Dates – Face to Face

I think that these are reasonable guidelines. When I accept a date from a gentleman I don’t consider it proper etiquette for me to attach a lot of responsibilities and obligations to the event. It is a date, not a relationship. He owes me nothing more than to treat me with courtesy while we are together. We’re here; let’s just pass the time as pleasantly as possible. Once the end of the date arrives, we owe each other nothing further. The “Sorry, there’s no chemistry” platitude doesn’t really add anything of lasting value to my life. His future absence tells me all that I need to know without being confronted with a laundry list of things that didn’t work. In my own personal experience, it was pretty mutch mutual anyway.


Emotional Midget. I think that this dynamic could have been discussed without attaching an offensive title to it. I think that a lot of folks might experience a similar epiphany and the best thing that they can do for me is to poof and go concentrate on getting their head together and decide what they want and when they are ready for it without dragging me through the process. Thank you to all of the ‘emotional midgets”, male and female.

Thank you to all of the poofing players. If that is what winds your watch, then you are correct in assuming that I am not the girl for you. I am very happy that you did not choose to string me along rather than simply poofing.

Pretending? When I consider what the alternative could have been… thank you.

He doesn’t like-like me? Well, I don’t like-like every single man that I go out on a date with either. And I’m not shopping for a buddy to hang with. We don’t need to create a big drama over this. I have no desire to beg for a kick to the stomach. I have no need for a critique from someone who does not know me on what they consider my strengths and weaknesses to be because what one person might consider a weakness I might consider a strength. Regardless, we are not right for one another. Say goodbye politely and fade into the sunset so that I can concentrate on the next person.

Explanations? I don’t see where they are either necessary or valuable in the 1-3 date range. When you get to the 4-7 range perhaps enough expectations have been built up to make a short explanation reasonable. We are still not at the exclusive stage, so there is essentially very little that we actually owe to one another other than to deal with one another politely in public. If you string along something that you know isn’t working out as far as 7+ dates, then I think that you should pay the price of having to say something to my face. You knucklehaid, you!