I've spent years staying two steps ahead of men, calling it strategy, sometimes calling it what it actually was. Then I started dating a man who moves at my exact speed, and found out I can't manage my way into the kind of love I actually want

I posted in Singles in PDX asking if any chivalrous men were left in Portland. A man answered with his own question: what's the female equivalent of chivalry. I sat with that longer than I expected to, because the honest answer isn't a mirrored list of nice gestures. It's something a lot harder for a woman like me to hand over.

He was the sweetest person I knew in college. Years later, we found our way back to each other and I walked into a house he'd built with his twin brother, one man I loved and one who wanted to hate me. What happened that summer, on a hundred degree day and in a shower afterward, taught me something I still carry: someone who doesn't love themselves can never really love you.

Swiping through Hinge as a full-time single mom in Portland means dodging fish-photo bros, weather that can't make up its mind, and men who love their crystals more than commitment. A funny, honest take on dating chaos in your 30s.

n unexpected DM from a charming New Orleans DJ, a friend from her old life, turns into an unflinching look at temptation, nostalgia, and what it really means to move on. A personal essay about testing the edges of new boundaries after divorce.

A humorous, honest breakdown of dating as a single mom in Portland, from babysitter logistics to poly pitches and men who want to know if you're 'spiritually aligned.' On why lonely beats compromised, and why she's unavailable to mediocrity, not to love

Love feels like your favorite song, until the lyrics stop fitting and the melody turns into a bad remix you keep pretending to like. A personal essay on staying for the memory, losing yourself to hope, and finally learning you're allowed to change the station.

A tongue-in-cheek survival guide for Fleet Week in Portland, where sailors flood the waterfront and every woman in town suddenly remembers how to flirt. A funny, honest reminder that a man in a uniform is not a life plan, just a good story for brunch

A personal essay about a man who built his identity out of highlight-reel stories, an athletic past that didn't hold up, and a second woman he never stopped calling. A reflection on the gap between someone's narrative and their reality, and learning to trust your gut before the truth catches up.

He seemed like the quiet, hardworking unicorn of Portland dating, until the lies, the secrets, and the double life came out. A raw personal essay about mistaking red flags for depth, and learning to trust your gut