Intention & attention

"Hey, where's your boy?" the hostess asked. "You should have brought him."

"Working," she said. And, in a second breath added: "I don't really know what we are anyway..."

"What do you mean?" another woman asked.

"Well, at what point do you consider spending a metric ton of time together as BFF-hood or dating? Do weekends together with no horizontal tussles count as dating? I mean, we spend a lot of quality time together. What is dating these days?"

"I was just reading an article in the New York Times that said the old ways of dating are gone or, at least, reversed," the woman said over a plate of party aperitifs. "Nowadays, people have quick hook ups and then decide if they want to date someone."

"I realize my current state of affairs is against the norm, and I like it better that way. But, sometimes it's kinda ambiguous. What is the difference between 'hanging out' and 'dating'?" she asked intently, ready for the woman's response. "I feel like it has something to do with intention..."

"Yes. It's a matter of focus," the woman replied. "Attention with intention."