Thoughts Written by Patti Dienhoffer

“I met a guy”, the words my friends, family and I’ll admit clients are dying to hear from me. So much excitement, and dread all at the same time, because, here we go again!

I’ll admit it; I am 42 years old, never married, no kids…  I know, “What’s wrong with her?” Am I right?! I honestly can’t answer that, but it obviously is me, right, I mean, I am the common denominator and I am self aware enough to say it, T. Swift, girl, you are on to something!

“It’s me, Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.” – Antihero – Taylor Swift

Back to my point, a year ago today I met a guy. I had been single for the better part of four years and not even interested in dating. Why would I? It’s a nightmare out there! I say if god wants me to meet a guy he will send him to my doorstep. And that’s what happened. (It probably helps that I am a massage therapist who sees clients out of my house, but whatever.) It was an ordinary day, a new client was coming in, whom I may or may not have known in high school. This might sound crazy, like, how would you not know someone from your high school who was only a year older, well at the time my high school was huge we had over 700 people in each graduating class, so yeah I didn’t know if I knew him or not. It turns out, I didn’t.

This is not a “love at first sight” story. I am very professional and although over time I do develop friendships with most of my clients I had never considered dating any of them. To be honest this wasn’t any different, we had a lot in common. We both had young, very active dogs and we laughed a lot. Well, I laughed a lot, he was on the massage table and I am well known for my deep tissue massage, so he was probably just trying not to cry. Either way, we hit it off; started out slow, getting together to walk the dogs, go sledding – you know, just having fun.

A boyfriend in my eyes was just heartbreak waiting to happen, I have been lied to and cheated on by men who said they were committed, even wanted marriage and family (apparently some “cake” too). I found; it was just to hard to continually pick up the pieces of my heart and try to heal yet again, so I just took dating off the table all together. But this guy, it was different. I am an empath and highly sensitive to people’s energies so I just knew he was a great guy.

Fast-forward, things didn’t work out, we have different paths to walk right now this isn’t a story about how we lived happily ever after. That may change, it may not, I can’t see the future but what I do know hands down, with out a doubt, meeting that handsome man changed my life forever! 

I honestly wouldn’t be writing this blog today had I not met him. So, thank you Brandon!

Since he chose to go another way I had nothing but time on my hands for the summer. So I packed up Toven, drove to Maine, and sat by the ocean as much as I could. Toven and I saw every lighthouse in Portland Main, we ate amazing maple bacon donuts from The Holy Donut, and I ate lobster, EVERYDAY. It was the best thing I could have done for myself at the time, and, I can’t wait to do it again.

When I got home, I sat down and wrote the first draft of my first manuscript, “The Life of Toven: Toven and his backyard pals.” I haven’t done any writing since college and I’ll be honest I wasn’t the best student. Also, Not an English major in fact I have dyslexia, so ME writing?! Nope didn’t see this coming.

I had made the personal goal to have The Life of Toven published this year, but how? It is very expensive to publish when you are an unknown author, and, who am I kidding I’m an unknown person! But, I love sitting down and just writing.

One day (seriously last week) I was scanning through Pinterest. BTW Pinterest is the perfect alternative to dating apps when you’re just trying to keep your mind occupied. I mean at least on Pinterest you are scanning through useful things like recipes you’ll probably never make but look amazing, or “how to take that dream vacation to…” that you cant afford, but you’re going to add it to your bucket list… you get the idea. I mean dating apps you’re scanning through worthless men who you’re never going to meet, men you don’t want to meet or men you will meet, but wish you hadn’t. Stop wasting your time like this!!

Right, I was scanning through Pinterest when I came across pins about starting your own blog.

And here we are… had I never met ‘Handsome’, had he never decided that he needed to go a different path. I never would have went to Maine, I never would have been able to eat all that lobster, The Life of Toven would have never been written and I wouldn’t be here right now writing this silly story.

If this adventure is going to be a good one or not well, I guess I have to wait and see.