Chemistry Test!

One of the mysteries of the modern dating world is why, so often, where boy likes girl, girl doesn't have a spark with boy and vice versa.

Chemistry is more elusive than the Scarlet Pimpernel as we get older. As a hormone ridden teenager it all seemed much easier - probably, in my case, because, at that stage, life hadn't burdened me with debilitating cynicism and men didn't come with more baggage than Heathrow.

We met, we fancied each other, we became boyfriend and girlfriend and never doubted that love would conquer all. Even though, in my case, it repeatedly didn't.

These days even when we pass the chemistry test which, for me, generally consists of the 3 'Ls' - laugh (can we make each other?), life (he has a pulse) and longevity (he has no secret wife to scupper the process and is under 80 - sorry, Reginald), the sheer volume of baggage we come with rarely makes for smooth relationship sailing as its rarely safely secure in perfect Louis Vuitton; more likely it's a rag tail of torn carrier bags ready to trip us up.

Recently, I was chatting to a man who, as it turned out, was too recently separated for comfort but did seem very nice. Lets call him Left Luggage. He lived a couple of hours away and had young children whom he saw 3 weekends out of 4 which, in his words, was 'non-negotiable'. I would expect it to be, but how did he realistically think a relationship might develop when his time, quite properly, was taken up by his childcare arrangements, negotiating the trauma of his divorce and the mundanity of life? Almost certainly too soon....even if we passed the chemistry test....but I haven't completed ruled him out...as he did sound rather lovely despite my reservations....clearly need to have stern word with self later!

Maybe I should just thank my lucky stars that I've never been good at science and any pretence at being so fell away when I failed my biology 'O'level. On that basis the chances of passing a chemistry test anytime soon are remote.

I'll worry about baggage and how to pack up my cynicism as and when I and a date get full marks in a chemistry test! I'm just glad that at least I've come to terms with the fact that my ovaries are way beyond going pop!

Later...