What did you say about being a Step-Dad?!

So, before my current interest, Maurice, I was getting to know this guy who I will call Jerry.  I'm going to be honest, he is younger than me...7 years younger than me to be exact, but legal.  He and I were very cool, I knew he didn't want a girlfriend and I was ok with that.  We hung out pretty frequently and eventually he started liking me because...I'm amazing.  I'm kidding, just being sarcastic.

I knew he was starting to like me, but I tried to ignore it.  He would tell me how beautiful I was and maybe it's just me, but men say sexy and pretty, but when someone says you are beautiful, I think there is usually something behind it.  I could be reading too much into it...that's what women do, we over-analyze and read too much into a lot of things lol.

Since we already had the understanding that he wasn't looking for a relationship, I just thought we were good friends that had common interest and liked hanging out.  He texted me out of the blue and it went a little something like this:

Jerry: Can I tell you something?

Me: Sure, you can talk to me about anything...

Jerry: I could totally see myself dating you...except I can't wrap my head around being a step-dad.

Me: I don't know what to say....

Jerry:  I told my dad about you and he said it is hard to be with a woman with a ready-made family.

Me:  Well, you already know that my son and I are a package deal so I would never be with someone who can't see themselves being a dad or "step-dad" as you put it.  Plus, I thought you didn't want a girlfriend...

Jerry:  Well, I don't, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to continue to get to know you and meet your son.

Ok, let me break this down...

First, say what you mean and mean what you say.  I am the type of woman that puts a man in a category based on his words and his actions.  If you say, you don't want a girlfriend, then you get put in the friend box.  That means, you will NOT get the perks that a boyfriend would get.

Second, just because you become someone's boyfriend, it doesn't mean you automatically get a pass to meet someone's child...at least not with me.  I am going to have to be completely comfortable with someone to even consider having my son around a man I am with.  I can count on 1 hand how many of my friends, male and female have been around my son.  I'm protective of my son and I don't want him around someone that I think is nice because the reality is that the person might now be so nice and I don't want to be responsible for the impact that a loser could have on my son...I'm not going to rant...I'm not going to rant....I'm not going to rant, but that is my mini rant!

Third...and let me just say that this should go without saying....my son and I are a package deal and I would never be with someone who doesn't like kids or doesn't like my son.  I feel like as a single, unwed mother, when you make a decision to have a child, you have to realize that you may have sacrifice your love life, your happiness, etc.  I would be single for the rest of my life if that is what I had to do to make sure that my son his happy, healthy, and productive.  I'm not saying you can't date because I clearly date, but I'm saying that my son comes before any guy that I am getting to know.

Jerry and I have had several conversations since this "ready-made" family conversation and now that I let it be known that I am not trying to be with him, I feel like he is letting his interest show even more.  I even was honest about my new interest Maurice and he is still cool with me...I wonder if he is secretly hoping that it doesn't work out...I don't know.


Now, Jerry is a great guy.  He will make someone really happy one day....as for me and my "ready-made" family...we aren't interested. 

Feel free to tell me if I'm over-analyzing, over-reacting, or reading too much into this...I won't take offense...