Staple me up, doc!

“Oh, shit!” That’s not what you want to be saying on a first date, but that’s exactly what you say on a first date when you look down at your hand to find blood after touching the back of your head, and you’re stranded 3 miles into a 6-mile kayaking trip.

That’s right, only halfway into a first date and I’ve already managed to develop a wound worthy of a hospital visit. I should win an award for the most traumatic first date.

Let’s back up a bit, shall we? My name is Jennifer, and I’m a single mom just out here trying to find ‘the one’. As if dating isn’t hard enough for us single people, let's add in:

• 2 kids under 10

• 2 jobs

• a dark sense of humor

• and an inability to stop binge-eating an entire sleeve of Oreos at midnight.

I also have 2 cats and more houseplants than I care to mention.

The entire package, right?

Wrong.

Or at least that’s how it felt after several years of being single and a growing number of failed dates.

Dating as a single parent is HARD.

We barely have time to wash the glitter out of our hair from craft time with the kids, let alone meet someone date worthy.

That's why when I go out on dates, I make sure to make them as exciting as possible, who knows when the next time I get to go out and have fun will be?

To wrap up the story, my date and I continued to kayak the last 3 miles in our separate kayaks., because really, what else were we supposed to do? It wasn't like an ambulance could get to where I was to stitch me back up.

I, of course, was pretending not to feel any pain, or the blood dripping down my neck.

We finally made it back to the drop-off station where we quickly gathered our things and headed toward the nearest emergency room.

5 staples later, I was all put back together and ready to head home.

We did go on to date for about 6 months but ultimately decided to end things.

One thing I've learned about dating is that it can make for an excellent story.

What was your craziest first date?