It's steamy in here
It’s going to get racy, but not too racy in this blog. Many months after my dad died, my mother and I talked about her dating. She wanted to make sure I was comfortable with it. I didn’t say “Yes, I’m comfortable,” instead I said, “Mom, I know a woman has needs.” The conversation was a mere formality for my mom, who was going to do what she thought was right for her at that point in her life, so my answer was more to justify the situation to myself. Fast forward a few decades and now divorced I had a similar talk with my daughter then 12 y.o. I told her I was going to try online dating and I wouldn’t introduce her to a man until I thought it was appropriate and she was comfortable about it. I left out the part about “a woman has needs” because I thought my 12 y.o. would say “Ewww!”
Well in the age of video chatting on a wireless handheld phone, air fryers, and a home chef being able to purchase a kitchen torch to make Creme Brulee (this last one was me and the torch was a gift), there are a plethora of gizmos and gadgets to answer “a woman has needs.” So this begs the question, “why do we need partners?”
Is it because we need an intellectual stimulator? We need to be entertained by his/her humor and/or quirkiness? Or we need a cheerleader to support us and give us a boost of Confidence? Yes, Yes, and Yes. At the root of all of these is one thing: HUMAN CONNECTION.
With the worldwide pandemic over the last year, we have not been able to hug and shake hands. Not able to meet a friend for coffee or lunch at a restaurant. Not able to gather friends and family for the holidays— Passover, Easter, Ramadan, the all-American backyard BBQ, etc. So as we return in the coming months to a normal as close to the old normal as possible, let’s be sure to cherish the moments of socially distanced coffee, family outings to go hiking, and outdoor networking events. My favorite is walking in a local park. I see runners, bikers, dogs, and runners and bikers with dogs.
If you look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, you can see the basic needs of shelter, food, and safety at the bottom. While some of us don’t have these, most of us do. So the next level is psychological. This is the need for human connection. Before the pandemic we took these for granted, so in the soon-to-be post and post-pandemic, I hope you’ll join me in feeling gratitude for all you have and cherishing the in-person moments with family, friends, and colleagues.
So I went from “a woman has needs” to cherishing human connection in this blog. The plethora of gadgets and gizmos will work for the needs, except the one for human connection.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs