TALES FROM THE FRONT

BY CHERYL LAVIN

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016, AND THEREAFTER

Mr. Forget Him

Dear Cheryl: I'm a 28-year-old professional, and my current gentleman friend, Noel, is 49 and divorced with two grown children. We've been seeing each other for a year. We're not exclusive, but we have a set date night once a week, talk several times a week and text occasionally. I consider him a good friend, and I very much enjoy his company. I'm very aware that our relationship is limited. I'd eventually like to settle down and have children. He's not Mr. Right. He's Mr. Right Now.

Noel recently said that he feels like he's robbing the cradle. He has had several other casual relationships with women in their 20s, so age is not the problem. The problem is that over the last several months we've spent more and more time together. I've been staying at his house three or four nights a week. Now, my mother, with whom I'm very close, is asking to meet Noel.

I believe she has a right to meet him since we're spending so much time together, but Noel doesn't want to meet her. I know he wouldn't be comfortable with his daughter dating a man 20 years her senior, but my mother doesn't mind. Is there any way I can help Noel understand that and work past this issue? I'd like to continue our friendship, but I don't feel it's right to deny my mother's simple request. — Age Is Just a Number

Dear AIJAN: I want to make two points. One, if Noel wouldn't want his daughter to date a man 20 years older, he's telling you he thinks more of his daughter than he does of you. Two, if you want to marry and have children someday, you're wasting precious time on a guy old enough to be your father.

You obviously have strong feelings for Noel, otherwise your one date night a week wouldn't have escalated to three or four. As you continue to spend so much time with him and invest so much emotion in him, you're not allowing yourself to meet a potential husband. I think it's time to end the relationship.

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