Have you ever met my friend Kyle’s Mom,
She’s the biggest bitch in the whole wide world,
She’s a mean old bitch, she has stupid hair,
She’s a bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch
Bitch, bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch
She’s a stupid bitch, Kyle’s Mom’s a bitch,
And she’s such a dirty bitch.
- “Kyle’s Mom is a Bitch”, South Park

I know that dating is difficult.  I know that dating is awkward, and terrifying, and it’s the time that you put up your best side in the hopes that you can snare someone and then trap them into staying when the bad side comes out.

I can only imagine how hard it is to date people when you have a child.  I imagine that’s a whole new ballgame that I don’t even know the rules to.

But it just so happens that I’ve been through a round of step-dating.

And there comes points where, as the parent, you sorta need to step up and say, “That’s my kid.  I’ll take care of it.”

The significant other either understands, or they don’t.  The latter means that they’re off the hook.. they’re clearly not cut out for this gig.  The former means that they’ve made it to the next round.

As the significant other of a parent, I understand that response.  “Sorry, I can’t make our date tonight.  Something’s come up with The Boy, and I need to be there.” 

It’s really just. that. simple.