Reminding Moments

Feeling stuck between the present and what’s coming next, especially when it comes to finding love. I recently broke up with my… I don’t even know what we were. 2024 is a pretty tricky time to figure out what kind of relationship you’re in—most likely situationships. I’m tired of meeting these guys, lowering my standards for them, and thinking lowly of myself. I am enough, and I’m worthy of having the best freaking partner in the entire universe. Yes, I’ll be with an alien if that’s what it takes to have someone who treats me right. First things first, I need to swear off men to figure out what kind of man I want. Okay, I’ll go to the notes app on my phone and type out 100 qualities of my husband. You heard me right—I’m not looking for a boy to fool around with; I’m looking for a man to marry and settle down with. I got so wrapped up in my head that I almost forgot I had a job to go to. Thanks to Cami, I got a text from her just as I was about to start my number one quality, but instead, I got reminded of my amazing job (not really). Maybe I’ll finish the list at work. “Heyyy, are you excited for the meeting today?” Cami is such a sweetheart. I’ve known her practically my entire life—well, my entire career life. She was so welcoming and understanding. I was so scared on my first day. There was absolutely no one except for her. My boss is so chill and laid-back that she wouldn’t notice if there was no one at the office. On my first day, my boss Sandra showed me around, but it was a ghost town—no one was there except for Cami. I sat with her, and we got to know each other. She taught me what I’d be doing and made sure I was settling in nicely. Soon, we started hanging out more—lunches, then shopping, and eventually going to the movies. She has the best taste in movies, I gotta admit. She’s literally the friend I’ve been wishing for, for a long time. She’s there when I mess up at work, always judging the guys I date (she’s right—they always turn out to be assholes), and somehow, she has this radar for spotting good or bad dudes. Honestly, she’s the best thing that’s happened to me since I got this job. “Hey, girl. Believe it or not, I kinda am excited. It’s a big break for me to show off my genius,” I told her while getting settled in. It’s my first time showing my boss a project I’ve been working on. Although I’m just an accountant, I have some expertise in data analysis and programming as well. I took a few classes after college, hoping they’d land me a job, and here I am, working a 9-to-5. I wanted to showcase the program I made for our sales team, which would estimate earnings for the next two years instead of just one trimester. I’m not really into programming or data analysis, but I’m good at it, so why not, right? Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve been wondering what my real passion is. These questions led to a quarter-life crisis after sitting at my desk doing nothing all day. Then, last Thursday, my boss gave me this assignment to do, and I had just five days to prepare it. Talk about nerve-wracking! “So, how’s it going with you and…” Cami started, but I cut her off before she could say his name. “It’s over. You’re right—he was a major asshole. He was lying about a lot of things. I almost got tangled in his web.” I knew she was about to say, “I told you so,” so I cut her off again. “Yes, you told me so. I know.” She chuckled and put her hands up in surrender. “We can go out tonight if you want—do something fun.” “Actually, before I got reminded of work, I was doing a list…” I stood up to show her what kind of list. “100 qualities of my husband, huh?” She read it out loud, hesitantly. “It’s something I saw on t****k, okay? It’s supposed to help me raise my standards.” “If that’s the case, then you definitely need to do it. In fact, we’re not going anywhere—snacks and drinks on me. We’re doing this s**t tonight.” God, that’s why I love her. I was thinking about asking her to do exactly that. If she were a dude, I’d probably have married her by now. Unfortunately, Tom had her before I did. They’ve been married for almost three years now, and they still look like newlyweds. Honestly, they deserve each other. I want a relationship like theirs, but I’m looking for something even better.