Something that has been kicking around in the back of my mind for at least 15 years –

Somewhere in my mid to late 20s, I noticed that some women who had been married for a length of time acted differently. They seemed more laid back, confident without being arrogant, and just nicer to be around. This isn’t to say there weren’t any single women who weren’t pleasant company, or that all married women were like this. I would even say women like this were a minority. But not even one single woman had this demeanor – it seemed like it was something specific to a subset of married women.

It could be that being married, they felt “safe” around me, and could be more relaxed.* Or it could be that I subconsciously acted different, since I knew they were off-limits. I’m disinclined to think so, however, since none of the single women came across this way to me whether I was interested in them or not. This makes me wonder if there is something about being married for some undetermined length of time that changes a woman.

If this is the case, how do I spot this future potential in a woman? And if I’m wrong, then what really is happening? And am I just pulling something out of the air here?

*Not that it would have made any difference – no married woman was going to even look twice at a Nice Guy, broke-ass, sucker with no self-esteem.