Unsolicited Advice

My oldest sister sent me this email last week after reading my blog entries about Espen:

Funny how the passage of time makes thing ever so much clearer. I don't know all the details, but from the lack of effort he has made to contact you, I had been saying all along(to myself),"He's just not into her." I'm sure by now you've read the book. Read it again N'Jeri! When I look back on some of the guys I was really into, and their lack of interest in me, I cringe with embarrassment at the stupid things I did. I have learned one thing though, men want what they cannot have. They love the chase. (What they do once they get what they want is a different animal). I'm not saying for you to play games, but don't be so available to them. And for God's sake, don't pursue them. I think more than anything, you going to Norway may have been what made him less interested in you. I could be wrong, but wasn't it after you went that he stopped making any effort? As for that soul mate crap, that's very romantic. However, after almost 20 years in the trenches of marriage, I can tell you that those first waves of hormones and endorphins make it wonderful. Once that stage is over, it's time to roll up sleeves and make a marriage/relationship work or it dies. Any way, trite as it may sound, wait for God to send Mr. Right.

My family knows I like to blaze my own trail. I've been doing it for years (I started when I was 3), and have always said I don't want unsolicited advice (I'm a bit "tête dur", which is cajun French for hard-headed). The advice may have been unsolicited, but I've come to realize the best gifts are.