BETWEEN DIGNITY AND DESPERATION

I'm hiding from the Mexican heat and what seems like a never-ending threat of the Corona Virus pandemic, like most ther cautious people these days. Staying inside more, gives you a lot of time to think...about a whole lot of things. Like, how single women over 50 may sometimes be making an unconscious choice between dignity and desperation when it comes to their relationships or (non-existent relationships) with men. People give you that side-eye look with the crooked smile, when you're "uncoupled" in late mid-life. While I've never been enrolled in the school of 'any man is better than no man', some women have found themselves in a quandary about settling, so that they don't wind up old and alone. With cats! Being single 'by choice' is the new moniker being used to shut nosy folks down before they decide to give you relationship advice or attempt to play matchmaker for some dude that they think is lonely just like you. Are women pressured into setting their standards aside to open up the doors to just a warm body to keep company with? Is it worth having to grin and bear more than they want and a lot less than they deserve? Often a private question is asked in the mirror, "How long do you wait?" More importantly, at what point does dignity slowly fade into desperation without realizing it?