I'd Like to Buy a Vowel...

One of my exes checked in to see how I was doing (See! I do have nice ones!) and to inquire about the status of my lifelong dream to appear on Wheel of Fortune.

Sadly, that dream is still unfulfilled. But about how I'm doing...

I'm doing well.

In fact, I'm pretty impressed with myself, if we're being honest. While breakups do get harder as you get older, because you're only pursuing relationships with those who have serious potential to be the one, the recovery process does get easier. It doesn't hurt less, though. If anything, it hurts more. But you know that you've been through it before and will get through it again, and if any past boyfriend was a prime example of that, it was this one who just IMed me to joke about Wheel of Fortune.

I dated him when I first moved back to New York City out of college. I was so young and inexperienced with relationships. I didn't feel established in my personal life or career and was still so much a work in progress that I had no clue what I wanted in a guy. So of course, that's when I met him.

He was my first real, true love. He was amazing, and the standard I measure all other boyfriends against. Good looking, kind, generous, funny, outgoing, easy going, athletic and successful. But we were thrown a few curve balls and went through a hard time that my 23-year-old self didn't know how to handle. So we broke up. And I regretted it.

But now he's married with children and happy, which is exactly what he deserves to be. I can see pictures of his kids without feeling sad or regretful, because he met the right match for him. And I can say that he's one of the best men I've ever met -- a loyal, honest, good person -- and that I'm lucky to have dated him, all while knowing that my right match is yet to come.