We also had a simple way of communicating with each other in certain situations:
Amazingly, this tactic was very successful. No one's feelings got hurt if the other checked the 'no' box because one could immediately rip up the paper and discard of the rejection and all would be forgotten. You could go back to sharing blocks peacefully.
There was none of this business we often refer to as "shades of gray." The word "complicated" wasn't in our vocabulary (literally).
When, and at what age, did it get so messy and so hard? Sitting next to someone at lunch doesn't make them your automatic boyfriend anymore--heck, dating someone for three years doesn't make them your automatic boyfriend either! There's no telling when they'll leave you for the girl in the pigtails swinging on the monkey bars.
I guess the real question is not when and how, but why is dating as a grown up so difficult? I'd rather sit in a dentist's chair than try to figure out if a guy likes me back or not. It's no wonder books like He's Just Not That Into You land on the New York Times Best-Seller List for weeks at a time.
The difference between dating now and then is that the games we play as adults are far less amusing. The courting process is like a grown up game of Duck, Duck, Goose or Freeze Tag. Just as frustrating and someone rarely wins after hours of running around in confusing circles.
I resolved to my roommate that this weekend I am going to revert back to the childhood spirit of communication. I am going to slip my crush a note written on a bar napkin (hey, I need to keep it a little grown up):
If he checks no, then I'll know. Then I can rip it up and continue on with my life and pretend it didn't happen.
It will be like being picked last in kickball all over again. I'll just go play jump-rope instead.
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