Tales from the Trenches Tuesday

Let’s head back to Baltimore for today's posting. For those that have only ever visited and never lived in Baltimore, you should know that it is really very BYOF – bring your own friends. They are not too receptive to outsiders and it is tough to meet people and make friends there. When people ask you “Where did you go to school?” they mean high school, not college.

So it was a pleasant surprise to find 2 guys we knew from undergrad not only living in our neighborhood but actually living on the very same block, literally across the street from us. It was great fun to have more people we knew in the city to hang out with and having a sort of shared history and the college common denominator helped too.

Eventually, something sparked between me and PL. It was super casual, G-rated and totally innocent. I mean we might as well have been in grade school. In hindsight it was probably more of a good friendship at the time that maybe one or both of us tried to turn into something else…just to try it on for size and see if it worked. And while it didn’t really work, it didn’t exactly not work either. So it just kind of lingered on for awhile. Fall turned into winter and there were a couple snow storms making travel off of our street pretty tricky. So having someone to hang out with right across the street from you…well that was just logistically advantageous.

PL had also recently gotten a super cute puppy. Like so adorable it hurt. And like 98% of other females out there, I am a sucker for a cute dog. So between the harsher winter climate, the convenience of him living across the street, and the added bonus of a lovable little pup, can you blame me for just letting it drag on a bit without really giving it too much thought or attention that I basically didn’t have anything that was attracting me to PL specifically? I hope not (and also thank you for overlooking the shallowness of my youth!)



One day, we were holed up in my house watching movies with the snow and frigid temps howling away outside. And he was so nice and thoughtful and respectful. Made popcorn, fetched drinks, and shared the blanket. And I found myself sort of annoyed by him and just missing the puppy.

It was then that I knew I had to end things with PL. Because Puppy Love should be that early infatuation you feel with someone you have just started seeing. Not seeing someone only because you like spending time with his puppy.