In the spirit of love and romance brought on by ubiquitous candy-red hearts, here is a series about The One Successful Setup and some of the many that failed before him. In case you missed the first three parts of the series, click here (1 2 3).
The song “Hey Leonardo” celebrates the love between two people who aren’t interested in changing one another: “She likes me for me, and not because…”
Over the last few weeks, we’ve discussed why some setups are doomed to failure. Today, we address the most expensive* lesson, but, luckily for me, also one of the last. I met my husband about six months after meeting Mr. Disapproving.
*Monetarily, not emotionally, expensive. Thankfully. We’ll discuss the cost of setups at a later date.
So back to Mr. Disapproving, who was one very good-looking fellow. So what if he couldn’t understand a word of my cosmopolitan American accent*?
*If you’ve heard me speak, you know I can turn on the Southern charm as needed, but I’m pretty accent-free normally.
Oh wait, a question in your charming European accent, Mr. Disapproving. Did you ask me why I do martial arts? (That’s an easy one.) Because it makes me feel strong, physically and emotionally.
But why do I want to feel strong, (asks the health professional) and why don’t I just run instead? Uh, because it gives me confidence, and I don’t like running?
And you want me to take up running anyway? What’s next, telling me how to dress? See ya, punk**. Don’t put down my hobbies, especially when they include learning the most effective way of kicking the hindquarters of folks like you.
**I told you I could turn on the charm.
Lesson learned: so long as I’m not causing harm to myself or others (bruises and bumps excluded in the dojang), no guy has the right to tell me how to spend my free time. If I like you, there’s a good chance I’ll spend my free time with you.
Stay tuned for the next post in this series!
Image: “Candy Hearts” by Michelle Tribe is licensed under CC BY 2.0