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JOHN GRAY'S MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS Dear John: My Mom has been seeing "Frank," a married man, for over 20 years now. This was part of the reason my parents split up. However, Frank stayed married, and although he left his wife to live with my mother, he has no intentions of …Read more. JOHN GRAY'S MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS Dear John: Can you really learn to trust again in a relationship when that trust has been lost? How do you get over the anger of being betrayed? And if a man cheats, will his unfaithfulness continue? — Still Hurting in Madison, Wis. Dear Still …Read more. JOHN GRAY'S MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS Dear John: There's a guy at work that flirts with me, and yes, I'll admit it: reciprocated. Lately, though, I've had my reservations about starting a relationship with him because we're office mates. We don't work side by side: I'm in the office and …Read more. John Gray's Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, January 28 Dear John: I am 41-year-old male who is happily married to a wonderful and beautiful 32-year-old woman. Frequently, I buy her sexy lingerie. I tend to associate these items with our intimate times together. However, she feels as if it is no big deal …Read more.
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Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

Dear John: I've been dating this super guy for about four months now. We met online, and continue to communicate regularly by e-mail rather than phone, even though we work and live in the same towns. When we are together, we have a great time. I am worried though, because his busy travel schedule only allows us to see each other about twice a month. For this reason, the relationship is moving very slowly. I feel we should know each other much better than we really do at this point. I haven't met any of his friends, though he's met a couple of mine. I would love to see him more often, but I'm afraid such a request would scare him away. We aren't sleeping together, though we are very intimate physically — he's been very good at not pushing me. How can I know if this will work or not in the long-term? — Passion at a Snail's Pace, in Miami, Fla.

Dear Passion at a Snail's Pace: The five stages of dating are: One —Attraction; Two — Uncertainty; Three — Exclusivity; Four — Intimacy; and Five — Engagement. From what you've written, I would guess that you are in Stage Two and he seems to be in Stage One. You are correct to consider holding off on pushing a move to the next stage: Exclusivity. If you want to test his desire to go beyond attraction, start dating other men. You don't have to shove this reality in his face, but when the time is right, feel free to mention activities you've done with others.

If he's seeing others, this will open the door to an honest discussion of exclusivity. At this point, He will reconsider his feelings and act accordingly. He may want to move on to the next level of commitment, or opt to keep things as they are. Either way, you win by having opened yourself up to other possibilities.

Dear John: I am seeing this guy who is 15 years my senior. At first it was great, but lately, he's turned into a major rubber band man: First, he called things off for a month, then called back. Two months later, he wanted out of the relationship but continued to see me and call, then he called it off for two months. Now that I am finally getting on with my life, he's called again. I have seen him once a week this month so far, and he asked to spend Halloween with me, but I know he will back out. This has gone on for a year now: He gets mad, waits a week, a month or more, and then he calls. He is retired and he gets bored with things easily. I would be happy if you could give me some advice on this; I feel like my life is on hold. I am just waiting for his next call and this is driving me crazy. What does he want from me? — Dating a Boomerang, in Morro Bay, Calif.

Dear Dating a Boomerang: He has every right to pull away. But it's your choice, however, as to whether you have to be there when he returns. You should never feel as if your life is on hold. If his rubber band routine is wearing you out, seek out other relationships that accommodate your needs. It takes two to make a relationship. You deserve a better half.



Comments

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I have to comment on letter #1 about the online dating situation. I did online dating off on for about 2 years with disappointing and dismal results. I did learn quite a lot about men and human nature. For starters, just because someone has a profile online and it says they want a long-term relationship with no game playing, doesn't mean that they are willing to hold up their end of the deal if you hit it off on the first date. I had several first dates and some 2nd dates that didn't pan out to anything. Many men seem fickle and like they were scared of dating even though they had joined a dating site. I was naive to believe that I might actually find more men who were willing to give dating a real shot. What I found were a lot of players or men who simply did not know what they wanted. Distance also played a role in some of it. If they didn't live locally or very close driving distance, it didn't seem to bode well for continued dates. What I also saw time and time again was a laziness on the part of the men I corresponded with. Many started out as instant messages and then emailing and eventually phoning. Once you get to the phoning stage, it's time to make plans to meet. There were some men who seemed content to never meet and do phone talks only. One guy strung me along for quite a while. When I finally asked him again about meeting, his response was that he froze up upon meeting. I told him that that was the point in meeting people though--to know if it was worth pursuing or not. I didn't give the guy much thought after that. Then months later, I get an instant message from him again. I said "oh yea, you're the guy who had a profile online but didn't want to meet anyone. I had basically not given you much thought after that." I later blocked him from messaging me. I met a guy who claimed to be a Christian. Trust me, they can say anything but the worst game player ended up being the "Christian" guy. I boycotted online dating after him. Life is too short. I've got a guy now locally and things are not perfect, but at least I'm not dealing with men who are strangers and want to continue to play the field and play games with women's emotions. It was not for me and I doubt that I'll ever venture into it ever again.

Comment: #1
Posted by: Mitsy1960
Mon Oct 6, 2008 1:14 PM

Letter #2 proves that just because a guy is older, he isn't necessarily any more mature than some of the younger guys. This guy is another one who doesn't know what he wants. He wants what he can't have and he doesn't want what he has. The chase is the thrill for him. Don't be there when he comes back. He isn't worth the risk. He's proven he's unreliable and immature emotionally for his age. You can do better.

Comment: #2
Posted by: Mitsy1960
Mon Oct 6, 2008 1:17 PM
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