I’m 38, almost a year out of a relationship that lasted two decades, and starting to think I might like to date in the new year. I haven’t actually been on a date yet. So far, this return to romance has happened entirely in my head, where one fairly significant change has already taken place.
Men in their late twenties don’t appeal to me. Men my own age aren’t catching my attention either. Even men in their forties aren’t doing much for me. But men in their fifties and sixties? Apparently, yes. Very much yes.
I mean the ones who have kept fit and grown into their looks. The fine-wine comparison is overused, but I understand why people keep reaching for it. There are men I might once have barely registered who now seem extremely worth noticing.
This feels recent enough that I’m still surprised by it. After spending so much of my adult life in one relationship, I expected there would be things to discover about dating again. I hadn’t expected my preferred age range to be one of the first.
I suspect renovating my property may have contributed. I’ve encountered older tradesmen through the work, and something about those interactions has stayed with me. I’ve found their maturity attractive, along with the good advice, the protective manner, and the sense that we’re meeting each other on the same intellectual level.
Those are qualities I’ve noticed in particular men, rather than something I can assume from a birthday. Still, the pattern has become hard to miss. My attention keeps going in the same direction.
For now, there’s no date to report and no new relationship to explain. Just me, considering the new year, with a much clearer idea of who I’d like to sit across from.
Has anyone else had their attraction shift like this? And once you’ve discovered a thing for men in their fifties and sixties, where do you actually meet them? Renovating a property is a fairly elaborate introduction service.
