I had a man cancel a date with me last week because his ex-wife couldn't take his daughter on her custody day. Based upon the circumstances, which I won't get into, it sounded suspicious. But how do you respond to kid issues? I mean, if he said he just found out he had to work, or he had to take his great-aunt shopping, I could roll my eyes and laugh it off with friends, knowing he was playing me with some lame excuse. But because he played the "kid card" I felt guilty for being annoyed with him.
Well, as it turns out, he was a loser who played the same hand too many times for comfort. After the third kid excuse - this time he couldn't call me for 4 days because he had his daughter, I began to see his true cards. His daughter is 9 years old and in good health, and as my friend Claire, who is a single mother, said "if you can't find 20 minutes out of all those days to make a phone call, it's not because your daughter is taking up all your time, it's because you don't want to find the time." The funny thing is I'm okay with a guy who changes his mind and doesn't want to date me (we all change our minds). I just want him to be honest about it. Don't keep texting me with excuses, just stop texting me all together.
With all the single parents who have legitimate reasons for having to cancel or reschedule dates, it's sad there's a few bad apples who'll use their kids and anything else as their way out, instead of taking the responsible route.
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