My wife was stuck at work, so my daughter and I were enjoying a quiet dinner when she asked, “Daddy? How many girlfriends do you have?”
“I don’t have any girlfriends” I said. “I’m married to your mother.”
“Did you have girlfriends?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
I paused before answering that question. I met my wife when I was forty-two and, despite having studied to be a priest, I didn’t exactly live a celibate life after I left the seminary. While I can’t post numbers like Wilt Chamberlin, I have enjoyed the company of women on more than one occasion – but the exact number is classified since my wife reads this blog. So, after editing out high school romances, summer flings, and a couple of painful and stupid escapades, I came up with an answer I thought was appropriate.
“I dated a lot of women,” I said, “But there were only three I ever thought about marrying.”
