Holiday Heart Madness

A post Valentine MS post

I’m not against Valentine’s Day.  Truly, I’m not. Let the sappy saps in love or in intense-like-flirting have their sappy day.

Plus, Valentine’s Day ushers in one of my favorite holidays, half off lots of chocolate candy day, which I totally celebrate.  Where was I on 2/15?  In the clearance candy aisle of my grocery store of course!

But this year, Valentine’s Day led to my speculating about dating, Steve Harvey and multiple sclerosis.

No, no, no!  Don’t panic!  Steve Harvey has not been diagnosed with MS, at least not to my knowledge. I certainly don’t want to start any celebrity medical rumors.

But on one of my blah days you might find me watching his daytime show.

(Crucial Disclaimer- I’m talking about a regular blah day as opposed to a Super Blah day where my brain is not in any condition to watch anything.  For the official, technical, medical distinction, please check out one of my former posts titled Super Blah.)

When I watch Steve Harvey I get concerned about my stubbornly single status.  My buddy Steve is all about helping women find the perfect man and turning regular men into perfect men.  His well intentioned goal is to pair us all up.  But I don’t want to be paired up!  Right now, I’m not searching for the perfect man.

(In truth, I’m not so eager to find a not-so-perfect man either.)

I try to heed all the warnings about not allowing MS to turn me into a social outcast but being social can be exhausting!   Add in love and sex and emotions and it’s enough to make me want to hide in my blanket fort with a good book and an even better bottle of wine.

Is that wrong?

I have some awesome writing friends who have MS, met at an MS event, fell madly in love and are now happily married.  And I’m super happy for them.  I don’t think it would be appropriate to name them, Jennifer and Dan Digmann, but I think their love story is amazing.  Exhausting, but amazing.

Personally, I can’t even imagine dating with MS.

“Hi Yvonne, would you like to join me for dinner and a movie?” a potential suitor might ask.

“Uggghhhh…. Can we skip the movie?  My bladder makes me miss most of it anyway.  And can we do lunch instead?  I’m usually a cognitive mess by 6.”

And what’s the latest rule on Going Dutch?

Me- “If we’re Going Dutch can we go to McDonalds?  MS keeps me on a tight budget.”

Potential Suitor- “Well, if we’re keeping it low key, how bout pizza?”

Me- “Uggghhhh, ok.  But be warned, with my MS shakes and my regular clumsiness combined with my MS clumsiness I’ll probably wind up wearing a slice or two.”

(Ok, so my blogs are tongue in cheek which means I may exaggerate slightly.  It’s unlikely I would actually wind up wearing a slice or two.  But I would definitely get sauce on me somewhere.  And cheese.  I just don’t leave a pizza joint without cheese on me in several places, chin, shirt, sleeve…..)

Perhaps you may think I think too much and that I’m totally exaggerating- of course I am, I just told you that.

And you may be right.

And it’s not like I’ve always been this way.  I’ve had some super fabulous relationships. And I’ve had some super not so fabulous breakups.  I’m just not sure I have the energy to go through that again.

I find comfort in the words of the great Katherine Hepburn.

“Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should just live next door and visit now and then.”  Katherine Hepburn

But then again, Katherine still had a busy social life.

I do try to keep social with my friends as much as I can.   And I in no way begrudge those with MS who are searching for fun and for a mate. I’m just not one of them right now and I’m stressing myself wondering if that’s ok.

I don’t think Steve Harvey thinks it is.

Maybe, just maybe, if it’s meant to be, a great date will just magically appear and I’ll have a magically better willingness to appreciate it.   But is it so bad to be so consumed with so not searching for that great date?

What do my single MS friends think about that?

Note 1- I actually did have a Valentine.  This little cutie is a Valentine baby who turned six this year and who is my lovey dove all year long!  Happy Birthday DJG2!

Note 2- To learn more about Dan and Jennifer Digmann and their very cool love story check out their website here Dan and Jennifer Digmann

Note 3- I believe the best thing for me right now is to watch Steve on Family Feud instead of his talk show.  Families and feuds I definitely appreciate!

PS  March is National MS Awareness Month! Want to get some awareness tied in with some giggles too?  Celebrate the month by giving the gift of MS Madness! Available on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book is donated to non-profit agencies helping those with multiple sclerosis and other chronic illnesses.

PPS- Happy Black History Month!

PPPS-Happy President’s Day!

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