Valentine’s Day is over which can mean only one thing: Dating Season is officially open.

Did you know there’s an optimal time of the year to date someone?

For those of you who were alone on Valentine’s Day, you have a good reason to be happy because today, dating season is officially open!

Urban Dictionary defines dating season as:

“The optimum time of year to date (in the U.S.) begins Feb 15 (after Valentine’s Day) and ends shortly before Thanksgiving. Starting a relationship close to February 14th can be awkward on Valentine’s Day if you’re not REALLY into that person (yet). Also, meeting family around Thanksgiving can prove to be more than a relationship can handle. Lastly, if you’re playing the field around the holidays, buying multiple gifts for multiple partners can get very expensive. Plus, being multiple places at once is impossible.”
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Long time listeners of the nationally syndicated radio show, Lex and Terry, are well aware of this rule.

Have I always followed it? Heck no. And I had to learn the hard way that avoiding any kind of serious dating after Halloween is just not worth it.

Why is there a Dating Season?

Because of the stress level that’s involved with asking questions like:

–Will he invite me over for Thanksgiving?

–Will he buy me a Christmas present? Do I have to get him one?

–What about Valentine’s Day and New Years?

The holidays put an enormous amount of unnecessary pressure on married and established couples. Therefore, putting those kind of expectations on a new couple is just asking for trouble.

Which is why I decided this past offseason, to avoid dating like the black plague. I didn’t have a New Year’s kiss and I didn’t go out to eat on Valentine’s day, by choice.

Sure there were guys around I had in mind to “fill that void” and at times I did stress about the fact of NOT having a date and if I was making the right call. But what I did have were zero obligations to please anyone but myself. Which feels pretty fantastic.

So if you chose to avoid dating in the offseason by force or choice, you can now look forward to the entire baseball season, spring, summer and fall to play the field without the pressures of buying gifts and impressing someone’s family of someone you just met.

Now, go forth and stalk that prey!

dating season