Marathon Monogamists

"She's one of those" my friend said. My friend Jgirl is dating someone new now. She broke up with an ex before school started, started dating someone in the summer, they broke up, she was stalked by her ex for a short period, then she started dating the guy from the summer again, they broke up and now she's dating someone new - someone that makes her really happy it seems.

My friend Red said "ah, she's one of those." I said, "what do you mean?" Red replies, "She's one of those people that always has to be dating someone." It's the third time this week that this concept has been brought up, which i thought was strange (spring is here, love is in the air?).

These people are what i like to call Marathon Monogamists - people who go from one relationship to another and is never single for more than a couple months at a time.

It didn't really occur to me that Jgirl was "one of those" but i guess she had been a dating continuously for the last 5 years...so has my friend the Molester...and my roommate's ex boyfriend from high school hasn't been single since he was 16.

one of the commonalities between my three examples is they have always had people pursue them, not the other way around. Are Marathon Monogamists just hot commodities - great catches - who get scooped up at the first whiff of singleness?

Or is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Because Marathon Monogamists don't know how to be single, do they exude "available! available!" signals and people pick up on it? And even if they aren't knocked head over heels by these wooers, they date them anyway because relationships are their comfort zones?

I used to think that Marathon Monogamists are the way they are because they don't know how to be single. don't know how to be happy on their own because they haven't done it in so long. and every one of them i've talked to always says after a break-up "i'm glad i'm single. i need to be on my own for a while. i don't want to date anyone for a while. i need to just figure out what i want for myself." and a couple months later, they are in the honeymoon phase of a new relationship.

But maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe they are actually true romantics in search of the right person and are more willing than others to give it a try. They are those people at the ice cream shop who want to test out all the flavors before they buy one. I know for a fact that Jgirl has been happier in this current relationship than she has been in a long time. Who knows? Maybe she's finally reached the finish line of the race.