Worthy of my Inbox

As a woman, I tend to regard most of my personal possessions sacred to men. Of course, there is my body, which has limited access. Then moving down the rank are my emotions, my attention, my free time, my phone number, and lastly, my email address. Hell, I give my email address to my cable company, my online astrologer, and to every online marketer it seems like. Is it really that big of a deal to give it to a guy? I had thought, no, until my friend Amy told me that a particular post-date email was not "worthy of my inbox."

What did that mean exactly? Was my inbox that omnipotent that certain emails should be deleted to never, ever appear again. Apparently, yes.

You see, after a recent date with Adam, I put much thought and effort into the "follow-up" email. This was our first online communication- all prior communications were by telephone (the smart way to go.) However, after our date, Adam had given me his email, wanting me to send him all the copious notes I had taken at our recent date to the film festival. This was my chance to wow him with my written wit; my power of the pen. I plowed ahead and crafted what I deemed to be the most perfect follow-up email ever. No mention of absolutely needing to see him again, I made sure that every other line evoked a smile or a laugh, and I asked a few questions, to ensure a reply email. I hit the nail on the head. Or so I thought.

A few hours later, AOL cheerfully told me that I Had Mail, and a return email from Adam had arrived. The anticipation mounted- would Adam be as adept at the dating emails? Well... no. You see, Adam's email was quick, to the point, no wit, no questions, and most importantly, no mention of another date. You see, Adam had crafted the perfect elusive email. And it drove me crazy. Being a woman, I needed to get an opinion on what this meant. Did he not like me? Was he crazy? Was he just busy? Amy seemed to provide the correct answer when she told me to delete the email. Yes, delete it. (and that includes deleting it from the deleted email file which, admittedly, we all look at even though it has been labeled deleted.) Amy said that his email should not remain in my possession as I would continue to read and analyze it. It would drive me crazy, she said. It would lead me to jump to meaningless conclusions. It was "not worthy of my inbox." And with that phrase, I realized that Amy was onto something. I had control here. I was in charge. I was woman, here me roar.

His email was not worthy of my inbox. My inbox should be filled with evites (to remind me how popular I am,) jokes from friends (to remind me how I surround myself with people that make me laugh,) with upcoming running races (to remind me how athletic I am) and with emails from guys making plans (to remind me how much of a catch I am.) It should not be filled with vague, elusive post-date emails. And with that, I hit "permanently delete."