A week or 2 ago I hit on a woman for the first time since Bill Clinton was president. She's smart, funny, has some shared interests, thinks my oddball hobbies are actually interesting and not boring,, has great taste, and is creative. She's certainly not too hard on the eyes either. Unfortunately, she shot me down. Hard. Maybe it's because I've never been in this position as an adult but I totally misread stuff with her.

A few days later I was talking to a woman in my city on here and I tried again. We're going to get drinks next weekend. The more I talk to her, the less excited I get. At this point, I'm looking at dating as a skill that I'm super out of practice on. I think it'll be good for me to get back out there.

It's been a year and a half since my wife and I split up. This just sucks. I'm 45 and both our kids are grown up now. This was supposed to be the time my wife and I were going to be able to go travel and do fun stuff with just the two of us. For years I looked forward to the kids spreading their wings and flying and having a chance to just be a couple (she got pregnant a month or two after we got married) without having to worry about the kids.

The worst part is that, not only was she my wife, she was also my best friend. I want to go to her to help deal with the hurt that I'm going through now like I used to with other problems. Unfortunately, all these problems are here because she's a lying cheater.

Sorry for the long rant. I saw the woman who shot me down earlier today and I've been feeling down since then. Sometimes it's good to just vent to other men who might be able to relate. I also like thinking that, by talking about the problems I'm having, some other men who are going through similar things don't feel so alone, that there are others like them and can understand their pain.