so hardly a teenager! Nat -- Thanks so much for this post. I'm not one for asking someone out -- never have been. But, what I found so helpful about it is it made me realize how much progress I have made in the past few months. There is a fellow at work with whom I had to speak to etc. daily for a project we were on. It went to professional to very friendly and we discovered we have tonnes of interests in common (not sure about values), anyway, I wasn't necessarily thinking of it as a prospective romance, but it was lovely to have a male friend again. Then suddenly he seemed to cool towards me, mentioned he had a gf, and our interaction became more reserved/professional. It was never unprofessional or even skirting into flirting territory -- more like genuine delight and interest at having met a kindred spirit. At first, I fell back into my old habit of ruminating over what I had said/done/not said/not done wrong to put off this prospective friend... and then I thought, I haven't said or done anything. Whatever is going on in his head is going on in his head and isn't my problem. I'd never make a move on someone who was otherwise committed, I just wanted a friend. But whatever, so be it. That to me was HUGE progress. Acceptance -- YAY. It is what it is, but whatever it is, it is not about me. It seems