He is asking too much!

So I have been dating a boy for about nine months now. We both are not interested in getting married (to each other at least) and having kids so there's no real pressure to move things along too quickly. Our relationship works best when we hang out a couple of times a week and see each other once on the weekend. I am not a "spend every moment together" girl anyway so the arrangement works well for me. Two months in he asked if I would move in with him at some point. I said maybe and perhaps the following summer (2010) if things went well. I have never lived with a man and the thought of it actually kind of scares me. I really like my own space and to be honest, most times just want to go to bed alone with my dog. But, at 39, I thought perhaps it was time for me to experience it. My instinct was to say no, but I went along with "maybe" as a show of good faith.

Now, seven months later and the summer of 2010 is looming. I can say without a doubt that I DO NOT want to move in with him. I have serious doubts about a future together and red flags are flying all over the place. He stayed with me for about four weeks recently and though we managed to make it work, it was not a great experience. For one thing, my place is tiny. There is nowhere to go to have some alone time. He doesn't do much other than work so he was always around, usually flopped on the couch watching sports. In started to grate.

Anyway, his stay ended and he went back to his apartment and the tension lifted. Last night he asked me if he could crash at my place while I was away on vacation for a week and then stay one for another week when I got back. He wants to save money by only paying his landlord half the rent for April. The only words I can come up with are WTF??? I said no, BTW.

25 days and counting...

When I was 16 I thought 40 was OLD! Like really old, like you might as well be dead old. At 16 you have your whole life ahead of you and you think you know everything. It's only when you turn 30 that you realize you know nothing. I'm waiting to see what 40 feels like but if my friends are any indication, it's not going to be pretty. I think the problem lies somewhere between unfulfilled dreams and expectations of what you thought your life would would be at 40, and the scary reality that is.

I guess it's not so cool to quit your job and hit the road travelling when you're 40. I backpacked through the South Pacific at 32 and many times told other travellers I was 22. Just so I didn't freak the 21 year olds out. I slept in dorms, made communal meals with said 21 year olds and generally had the time of my life. I would totally do it again at 40. But now I would have to say I was at least 27 I think.