u/Fragrant_Mail6016

I'm 47, living in Mitchell's Plain, and at the tail end of a divorce that should be completed soon. I'm also a dad with custody of my preteen daughter, so my life has responsibilities and routines built into it.

But I miss female company. Quite a lot, actually.

I miss the playfulness between a man and a woman who enjoy each other. Flirting. Having a drink together. Talking nonsense and laughing. A message during the day that makes you smile. Going somewhere occasionally, or doing absolutely nothing together on a lazy Saturday afternoon and being perfectly content with that.

I'm not going to write a shopping list of what you must look like, what you must earn, what your life must look like, or decide in advance exactly what this has to become. I think I did too much of that before.

I'm looking for a woman somewhere reasonably within my orbit who would also enjoy having a man in hers. We can talk first, see whether we actually enjoy each other, and let reality do some of the deciding.

I'm affectionate, curious, sometimes serious, sometimes ridiculous, and my life is fairly grounded around being a dad and working from home. I enjoy a drink, good conversation and people I can be unguarded and playful around.

I'm not looking for someone to rescue me from my life, nor am I auditioning immediately for a new wife. I'd just really like to meet someone and discover what is there without demanding that we know the answer beforehand.

If any of that sounds familiar, say hello. Tell me a little about yourself and what you miss having in your life.

Edited to read better. I'm a 47-year-old man in Cape Town looking for a female companion, ideally somewhere between 30 and 40, for conversation, companionship, affection and an adult relationship if there's mutual attraction.

My circumstances are a little unconventional, so I'd rather be upfront about them.

I'm the primary caregiver of my eight-year-old daughter, which obviously affects my availability. I started divorce proceedings two years ago and moved out of the family home. More recently, problems with the flat I was renting led me to move back in temporarily with my soon-to-be ex-wife. We are cohabiting as parents, not as a couple. When circumstances allow, I'll find suitable accommodation for myself and my daughter.

It's complicated, but it's functioning.

I work from home as a freelance Digital Marketing Strategist. I live on the Cape Flats and I'm what South Africans would call coloured. I smoke cigarettes and very occasionally 420. I rarely drink, so I'm equally comfortable with someone who drinks casually or doesn't drink at all.

I'm non-religious, although I was raised Christian. I have no problem with a partner being religious as long as neither of us needs the other to participate or believe.

I'm in reasonably good health. I have a dad bod but I'm not terribly unfit. If a hike says "moderately fit," I'll probably survive it without requiring mountain rescue. I'm also happy to pay my half when we do things together, and I'm reasonably useful when something involving technology stops behaving itself.

One incompatibility worth mentioning: despite being a parent myself, I don't cope particularly well with environments dominated by very energetic toddlers or permanently raucous teenagers. That doesn't mean you can't have children. It just means our circumstances would need to fit.

What I'm looking for is some constancy. Someone I can talk to regularly, spend time with, become comfortable around and, if the chemistry is there, share physical intimacy with. I'm not looking for someone with a perfectly uncomplicated life, that would be a strange requirement given my own. I'm looking for someone whose circumstances can complement mine rather than making both our lives more difficult.

What I can offer in return is companionship from someone who has already been through a fair amount of life's existential crap and isn't looking for another person to carry it for him. I'm independent, I work, I parent, and I generally manage my own life. I'm not looking for a rescuer, a replacement mother for my child, or someone to finance me. I'd like to find a woman who similarly has a life of her own but would enjoy making a consistent place in it for each other.

I know that's more information than the average dating post. That's deliberate. If you've read all of it and thought, "Actually, that could work for me," I'd genuinely like to hear from you.

46M Cape Town. Trying again.

Looking for a female companion Cape Town