He’s A Keeper

Unable to stay awake a second longer, I hobbled into my bedroom, crawled under the cover, and drifted into a world that did not include my demanding children. Prior to this weekend, I was able to closely monitor my boyfriend’s interactions with my children. No, not because my boyfriend is creepy and needs to be watched. But, because I was scared for him! I am a mom that is very honest about her kids. My kids prey on helpless people. Well, to be fair, only one of my children gives me cause to be concerned these days. Being crowned the “Queen of Terror” early on, she has made her sister’s comfortable with leaving all of the dirty work to her. So, I seldomly leave her alone with people I am trying to make a good impression on.  

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Unfortunately, over the weekend I found myself having to succumb to the drowsiness caused by my pain meds and trust that my boyfriend would survive her short reign of terror while I napped. After a wonderful slumber, I awoke, looked at my phone, and immediately went into panic mode. I had been asleep for almost two hours! Two hours was more than enough time for the “Queen of Terror” to make my boyfriend question his sanity when he vowed to love and accept me, and the other human beings, that I called my own!

Not hearing any voices in the living room, I was confident that my boyfriend had run for the hills without even telling me goodbye. What was I thinking? Clearly the meds had taken over my ability to think rationally. Under normal circumstances I would have never allowed her to spend this much time alone with him. Climbing out of  bed, I realized that I also did not hear my dogs jumping around, bumping into everything, like they usually do. What had my “Queen of Terror” done? Hobbling as fast as I could, I made my way to the living room only to see my boyfriend seated in the chair, staring at the television, while my little one sat there, looking as angelic as ever. Breathing a sigh of relief that he was still there, I put a big smile on my face and made my way to the couch. As he turned to look at me, with a big smile still glued on his face, I knew that my nap had led to the turning point in our relationship. Trying to read his mind, I peered into his eyes as I eased onto the sofa, waiting for him to speak. With that big smile still on his face, he asked if I had a good nap, and then whispered under his breath, “your daughter is a terror!” As he tried to subtly tell me about the nightmare he had just experienced, my daughter, suddenly glued to her chair, watched us closely. 

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Me and the “Keeper” 🙂

Between text messages and whispers I learned that my daughter had turned the living room into her jungle gym and sailed through the air from the couch to the chair until she became bored, daring him to try to stop her. Once she became bored with the indoor jungle gym she turned her attention to our dogs. Our French Bull Dog had been able to escape the nightmare by darting to my teenager’s room because he knew that was a safe zone.  (Yes, my little terror had been barred from her sister’s room). Our Great Dane was just passed out on the floor, as though he had given up on any possibility of survival. Horrified to ask what else had taken place during my nap, I sat quietly, glaring at my daughter, daring her to utter a word. 

When he left to shower and change I was certain that my boyfriend was gone forever. And, honestly I could only blame myself. I had “unleashed the dragon” on him way too soon! 

To my surprise, after a brief reprieve, he sent me a text to let me know that he was on his way back! With a big smile on my face, I settled back on my bed and whispered to myself, “Yes, I guess he is a KEEPER!”

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My Darling “Queen of Terror” 🙂

Ladies if you ever want to know how a man truly feels about you, give him a little uninterrupted time with your children. If you never see him again chances are he wasn’t that into you! But, if he shows back up, still smiling, he, too, is a keeper!

I would love to hear some of your favorite single parent dating stories:-)

Published by Tonza D. Ruffin

Perfectly Imperfect but VERY PROUD WOMAN, MOM, LAWYER, and AUTHOR, but most importantly...LIFE LOVER! I laugh loud, I work hard, I play hard, I am adventurous, I am curious, I am driven, I have moments of deep insecurity, I am loving, I am vulnerable, I am explosive (not one of my finer qualities), I dance around my house alone, I am an awful perfectionist which makes my insecurity worse, I sing out loud in my car without any concern for whose watching, I have trust issues, I do not live through my children, I no longer try to force my children into the mold that I created so that I could feel validated as a mother, I am a risk-taker, I am guarded in my personal life, I am kind, I am grateful. I am so excited about the rest of my life!

11 thoughts on “He’s A Keeper

  1. When I met Mary, she was a single parent with two boys. One was three and the other was five. She was working as a waitress at the NCO club on base. I had just returned from Vietnam and wasn’t seeing anyone. My friend was a friend of hers and he introduced me to her and I liked her right off the bat. When I got around to asking her out on our first date she said yes, but she stated she needed to find a babysitter for the boys. I said absolutely not. I said, Let’s take them with us to dinner so I can spend some time with them too. Well the rest is history. Ad far as I’m concerned I have three Sons and their all mine, and yes, their all grown and have children of their own but they still call me Dad.

  2. Yeah, he didn’t run for the hills after all of that….he’s probably a keeper. Lol! Hail to the “Queen of Terror!”😂

  3. do I know that guy………have not seen him this happy in a long while thanks vegan go heels

  4. This is a beautiful story. When a man accepts your children and let them tear the house down, honey you are in there for the long haul and when you become an empty nester as well. Gotta love Gabby !!! I’m so happy for you guys and waiting hopefully and patiently for “THAT BLISSFUL DAY”

  5. I could only laugh at the circus!! Queen of Terror really made me laugh!! Guess he stood the test of time!! This is a good sign that he may be able to happily endure..lol!

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