I’m an older woman with young children — and that seems to be enough for people to decide I’m not worth knowing. Every time I start talking to someone, it ends the moment I mention my kids. I get ghosted before there’s even a chance to meet.
It hurts, because these are the two things I can’t change: my age and my children. They are my truth, my life, and somehow, my disqualifiers. I can’t pretend I’m younger. I can’t erase my kids. I can only keep showing up, even when it feels like there’s no point.Some nights, the loneliness feels impossible.
But I remind myself that love built on conditions isn’t love at all. Maybe the right person won’t see my life as baggage — they’ll see it as a story worth joining. Until then, I hold on to hope, even when it feels far away.
— Rachel, 44, Phoenix, AZ
