Water Cooler Gone Wild

For some reason it was the day that multiple people decided to ask me what I am still doing being single. My CFO said, "So what's an attractive girl like you doing not married?" I guess when you work in a small company and are surrounded mostly by men, you never know what people are going to say or ask, but I knew that going into my industry.

Now that I am divorced rather than separated, I didn't mind telling him. I didn't want anyone to assume that I had baggage by saying that I am in the process of getting a divorce, since most people assume that I should be a wreck, so I never felt the the opportunity was right to discuss my personal life.

He was shocked and then asked if he can be on the lookout for nice guys for me. Of course I said yes. A few hours later, I was speaking to one of the traders in the kitchen and mentioned that my brother and sister-in-law were expecting in December. He asked if I wanted to get married and have kids.

I told him my story as other people walked by and poked their heads in. It basically took "talking at the water cooler" to the next level. It looked like a Geraldo talk show with all of the questions and people around. I ended up giving marital advice to a newlywed in my office, talked about dating post divorce and gave wedding planning tips to a guy who just got engaged.

A little while later, one of the guys came up to me and said, "I have to be honest, we all feel so much closer to you now." Although it was a conversation about my personal life, sharing my experience with all of them definitely made me feel like I was more part of the group.

As the only single girl in the office, I always wondered what they thought. I finally felt like I could 100% be myself rather than just being portrayed as the free spirit who goes out on a lot of dates.

For some reason, I felt like more of an adult.