I found myself in my twenties admitting that I had no clue to what dating was all about. Latinas are not brought up to date...or so I thought.
My mom had given my sister and me dating advise when we entered our teens. Of course I didn’t listen. I just thought “This is the US, not Mexico. Las cosas son diferente en este pais.”
I tried to find answers to the questions I had and learn the rules by watching TV, reading the fashion magazines (that will go unnamed). All that did was lead to mistakes, more questions and frustrations. Some of the information I read was so ridiculous that no woman (especially a Latina) with any self respect would follow.
At one point I just thought I would accept the old man’s marriage proposal (that’s a future post) if I never figured it (dating) out. Then a few weeks at the Phoenix airport I came across the book “Mars and Venus on a Date” by John Gray, Ph.D. the author of “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”.
I quickly bought the book thinking “At last, something that will explain this to me.” It’s a great book, that taught me that my mother was right.
“AGH!!!” I say this as I throw my hands in the air, frustrated and upset as I think about all the trouble I could have saved myself, not to mention $15, if I had just listened to my mother!!
I realize that the words my mom shared with me wasn’t traditional, old fashion or customs from “the old country” , but insight to the male and female psychology that goes beyond borders and customs. My mother wasn’t giving me her dating advice to keep me from having fun. On the contrary she wanted me to know the rules so that I could fully experience dating and actually have fun instead of wasting so much time asking questions.
My mom doesn’t have a Ph.D or best seller, but she could easily have had both had she not dedicated her life to her children, and for that I will always be grateful. When I confessed to her that she had been right about dating she laughed and told me to send my sister a copy.
