Bad Boyfriends

Why is it that girls usually have to have at least one bad boyfriend before they meet someone nice? I get it that you have to experience something bad to truly appreciate something good but come on! My oldest kidlet as well as a "grown up" friend of mine are both dealing with guys who are just...stupid. But then again, I guess we're stupid for putting up with their stupidity!

A fabulous example comes to mind with my first and greatest love, "Pierre". We dated for quite a few years. We were the type of couple who were madly in love one minute and completely at each others throats the next. Even though we fought a lot I never once cheated on him. He on the other hand, had at least one dalliance that I know of because the "other girl" called me and told me so. Of course, that prompted one of the final breakups we had.

College got in the way of our love affair and eventually we went our separate ways but I never forgot Pierre. Many many years later, thanks to Facebook, I got enough leads to help me locate him once again. As soon as he received my letter we were off and running again. I knew better than to think that we would be instantly in love but I admit, I was curious to find out where things would lead. We lived on opposite sides of the country so reuniting was difficult but we managed to visit one anothers respective towns. I visited him first and that weekend was great with a capital "G". But there was a teeny tiny niggling in the back of my mind that I couldn't quite ignore.

A few months later, he visited me and that particular weekend was definitely...off. I knew things were off when I visited him but I didn't want to trust my gut feelings. Shortly after he arrived I knew that something was wrong even though he tried to deny it. We had a nice day but the second day was terrible. I kept needling him that I knew something was amiss but I couldn't put my finger on it. He did what any guy would do - deny, deny, deny. Finally, he came clean to the fact that he was heavily involved with someone in his hometown. The dirty, low down, yellow bellied, cheating RAT!!! I KNEW it!!! Oh sure, he looked sweet and innocent but he was really a RAT. Ted Bundy looked sweet and innocent, too and look what he did! Needless to say, I sent Pierre packing so fast his head was probably spinning.

Some guys look like trouble and you can't deny your gut... 

The bad boy

The rebel

The sorta scary guy

What the HE$!@#%&*???

Sneaky dude

And some aren't so obvious. They just come across as being...sensitive.

But let me tell ya...you've got to trust your instincts. If you feel something is off - it probably is. If you think he's trying to pull a fast one over on you, he probably is.

One of my kidlets had a boyfriend who appeared to be very caring and gentle and respective when he was around the parental units. When the two of them were alone, he was abusive - verbally and physically, had a horrible temper, put my kidlet in danger and was basically a giant SCHMUCK. It took the poor girl a while to realize what so many people around her already knew, and boy, did it take a toll on her. Never again!

I'd like to think that you don't have too many bad boyfriends before a good keeper shows up but it has been known to drag on and on and on. Girls, keep your chins up and don't fall for some stupid line a stupid guy is trying to pass off on you. Follow your gut feelings. If you don't, your stupid bad boyfriend might just punch you in the gut. And then I'd get in trouble because I'd have to defend you by meeting him in a dark alley one night and introduce him to my baseball bat - KILLER.