Being single at sixty feels very different from being single when I was younger. Back then there were expectations, pressures, and perhaps even a little more urgency. Now I have my own life, my own experience, and a much clearer idea of what matters to me.
I’m not looking for someone simply because I don’t want to be alone. I want something much more meaningful than that. I want friendship first. I want conversation. I want to laugh with someone, get to know him properly, and feel that he genuinely enjoys getting to know me too.
I’m not in a hurry. At this stage of my life, I don’t need to rush into anything. There’s something rather lovely about taking your time with another person — talking, laughing, discovering the little things about each other, and finding out whether you actually enjoy being together before worrying about where everything else is going.
Chemistry matters, of course. Attraction matters too. I’m sixty, not dead. But connection matters more.
I want to be able to sit across from someone and talk for hours. I want kindness, affection, humour, and that wonderful feeling of knowing somebody is genuinely pleased to see me.
Dating today is certainly an adventure. There are dating apps, text messages, disappearing messages, mixed signals, and people who seem to want to know your entire life story before you’ve even had a cup of coffee together.
Sometimes I find it fascinating, sometimes I find it hilarious, and sometimes I wonder what on earth is going on.
But I’m open to it.
Growing older hasn’t taken away my curiosity about love. If anything, experience has taught me that a good relationship isn’t about finding a perfect person. It’s about finding someone with whom you can be yourself.
What I want now.
What I want from a relationship today is actually quite simple: respect, friendship, attraction, honesty, companionship, and laughter.
Someone who likes me — really likes me — and isn’t afraid to show it.
I’ve lived enough life to know that grand promises mean very little without consistent actions. I would rather have someone who checks in because he wants to, who can make me laugh on an ordinary Tuesday, and who makes me feel comfortable enough to be completely myself.
And if friendship grows into something deeper, and two people genuinely connect, wouldn’t that be lovely?
Let’s talk about it.
This part of my blog is where we talk openly about love, dating, attraction, and relationships later in life — the good bits, the confusing bits, and probably some very funny bits too.
I don’t claim to be a relationship expert. I’m living it and learning as I go.
And perhaps that’s exactly what makes the conversation interesting.
Because turning 60 doesn’t mean the love story is over.
Maybe we’re finally old enough to write a better one.
Love, Life, & Lessons: My Next CHAPTER 