Not that desperate...

I like being single. I like being alone. I also like meeting people and being with my wonderful friends and family. Some times I think I will find that special person, other times I think that I have it pretty good and that would get in the way. Call it selfish. However, the rest of the world seems to think that because I am not dating, married, or with child, I must be miserable. (Actually, that seems to kind of make me more miserable...)

One of my students showed up one morning and said her uncle wanted to know if I wanted to go have dinner, or perhaps Starbucks. It was kind of cute. I had no recollection of what this person looked like, or even when he saw me. He comes to pick her up, sometimes before the end of the day, and I do not pay much attention to whose doing the picking-up, as I am busily shuffling kids in different directions. Since then he has come by twice with grandma to come get her. Today I was wearing a shortish, kind of tight skirt and knee high boots. (Sorry for looking fabulous. Just because I am a teacher, does not mean I am a fuddy-duddy in a sack dress -EWW! I detest the sack dress.) So, when uncle came to get the niece, we had to shimmy over and get her off the bus. While walking back toward my class (they were behind me for a spell,) I hear him tell his niece, "Your teacher looks very pretty today, no?" Okay, he wanted me to hear. Nice touch.

I thought about it and came up with two things: (1) Is there anything really morally reprehensible to dating a student's relative? (We're assuming they are of age, of course;) (2) What are my aversions to dating this person? (Regardless, I do not want to date my student's uncle, rest assured.)

To the first, not really, but it might make for a lot of gossip and one would probably want to wait until the student was no longer in the class. To the second, well, that made me a little uncomfortable, because it made me shallow. Let's imagine the student's uncle is the adorably hunky climbing instructor at the gym with those sparkling eyes and strong climbing arms, and is working on a marine science PhD, who evidently shares much in common with fabulous teacher. Would that tip the scales?

Ah, these moral dilemmas. It really all is shades of gray.