Markets, Dating, and the Little Piggies

I was reading my friend's blog and came across this old post. I absolutely LOVE it!! It is a must read!

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My roommates and I were discussing our frustration with the dating market one night after one of us had had a particularly bad first date. We’d enlisted a little expert advice from some delightful—if not fair weather—friends, Ben and Jerry. As we discussed the ins and outs of the dating market, a childhood story came to mind.

When I was a little girl, every night before I went to bed, my dad would swoop me up in his arms, cuddle me a bit, then grab one of my flailing feet, and tell me the timeless tale of the little piggies that went to market.

For those of us who aren’t early childhood development scholars, in the story, each toe represents a piggie, and each little piggie has its own animation to accompany the storytelling. I hope all of you were so lucky as to have heard about those little piggies. But in case you need a refresher, here’s the story in its entirety.

This little piggie went to market,

This little piggie stayed home.

This little piggie had roast beef,

This little piggie had none.

And this little piggie went wee wee wee wee (the number of “wees” is entirely subjective) all the way home.

A great story. It still brings a smile to my face. But now I wonder if there isn’t a more adult application to that tale of the little piggies and their market.

It appears that all those little piggies were aware of the market and their need to shop there. The first little piggie just up and went. No questions, no messing around, no “hanging out.” She went straight to that market with her shopping list of necessary qualities in a spouse and hightailed it to the express lane when she found Mr. Right.

The second never put herself out there. She just stayed home. And while there’s something to be said for a good market-free night at home, I wonder if later in life, that little piggie regretted never even trying. She missed out on the shopping experience of finding the sudden, unexpected, yet totally pleasant surprise waiting in aisle three.

The third little piggie, like the first, also seemed to find what she was looking for (i.e. roast beef—and who doesn’t want a hunk of beef ladies? Be honest.) But the next one got nothing. Why is that? What made the third little piggie more deserving than the fourth? Did she beat the fourth to the early-bird special? Was she a preferred customer? Or maybe, the fourth little piggie only thought she wanted roast beef, but needed to spend some more time in the market to realize, really, she’s more of a filet mignon kind of girl.

And the last one just cried all the way home. I think we’ve all been there. Those painful, tear-inducing dates or relationships that make us want to march right back to that market, and demand restitution with promised threats of burning the establishment to the ground.

What is the secret to success at the market then? I don’t pretend to be any sort of expert, that’s why I hang out with Ben and Jerry every now and again. But it seems like the most successful shopping trips start with a list of what we want (as much as we all hate to think that). And the more we go to the market, the better we’ll be at fine-tuning that list. Still, I always enjoy a little spontaneity at the market. If something comes along that catches my eye that wasn’t on my list, why not put it in my basket and try it out?

If you go to market—best of luck to you. May you find the choice hunk of prime roast beef you seek. And may you be blessed with coupons and all sorts of daily specials. But if your roast beef doesn’t live up to it’s A grade, or if the market is fresh out of your favorite bovine morsel, don’t be afraid to come back another day. Or, if you don’t go to market for a day, if you decide to stay home and postpone your trip to the market for the sake of your sanity, so be it. Luckily for all of us, the market never closes.