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I Took My Teens to a Speed Dating Event

What would Carrie Bradshaw do?

Dana DuBois
Age of Empathy
11 min readDec 9, 2024

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A middle-aged red-haired woman sits across a cafe table from a man, with two dark-haired teens in the background, laughing.
It pretty much looked just like this. Image created by author in Canva Dream Lab AI.

From: hi@shuffle.dating
Subject: Shuffle Dating — what to expect tomorrow

Well, shoot.

Shuffle Dating is a lo-fi, high-speed dating service, a word-of-mouth* antidote to dating apps. You sign up, find a monthly event that aligns to your age group and preferences, pay $25, and just like that — you’re signed up for eight “dates.” When I got the email last month, I was delighted to see an age 40–55 event on a Saturday. Sure, I have my kids on Saturdays, and it was at a cafe on the other side of town, but pffft, details. I had time to sort things out.

Except I forgot about it.

And now it’s Friday evening. The event starts in about 18 hours.

My eldest daughter and I are lounging on my bed, watching Sex and the City, both of us mesmerized by how perfect Sarah Jessica Parker is. Netflix recently re-released the iconic series, and I’m surprised by how it resonates with her at just sixteen, 25+ years after the show originally aired.

“She reminds me of you,” says my child, reaching for another handful of popcorn.

I’m stunned. I’m sure I’ve received better compliments in my life, but in this moment, I can’t think of any.

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Age of Empathy
Age of Empathy

Published in Age of Empathy

We publish high-quality personal essays, humor essays, and writer interviews. Our goal is to provide a place for experienced writers to share authentic stories and connect with others, collectively celebrating a common passion, striving toward an age of empathy.

Dana DuBois
Dana DuBois

Written by Dana DuBois

Publisher for Pink Hair & Pronouns and Three Imaginary Girls. Boost nominator. I'm a GenX word nerd living in the PNW with a whole lot of little words to share.

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