Last week’s Friday night dinner, where I was invited as a guest for the first time, was going smoothly and the conversation was flowing easily. I patiently waited for a pause, a noticeable silence, before I brought up the subject that my mother eloquently suggests I bring up at every available opportunity: “Um, by the way, I’m single and (long) ready to settle down. Do you know anyone out there?”

I have to give this family kudos, because they took me seriously and really started thinking about who they know and who that person might know. Of course they had to ask me some basic questions about myself starting with my age, which is the most difficult part of this whole business: At 44, I’m what they call an “older single” (never been married…I could write a novel about why but I know it’s partly because I’ve moved back and forth between St. Louis and Jerusalem so many times I’ve lost count…it helps to stay in one place when you’re looking for a relationship). I have had some medium to long-term relationships along the way but they haven’t worked out.

And yes, my clock is definitely ticking, quite loudly I might say. I still want at least one child and I still believe it’s possible. But I want to find my husband first. I don’t want to raise a child alone for a myriad of reasons that would probably make this blog very boring. Suffice it to say, it’s time to make this dating thing a top priority.