Dixie, I fished in the ocean of women until I was 37 before I found Mrs. Right. I had some multi year relationships with "miss not quite the one". I learned a lot about dating, but not much about true love.
Don't throw away a possible great man for fear of being hurt. My now wife and I dated for a year, before I proposed, and we were engaged for a year, before the big day. Living together after the proposal let us both know we could do it forever. 33 years later, we are still happy to be with each other.
So don't run away for him, but just unwrap maybe one layer of barbed wire on your heart and see where it goes. Make no major commitments for now, and maybe put a one year dating only time limit on things. A good man is hard to find I suspect. Most of us are married already!
