My favorite kind of dating stories are Crock-Pot tales. Not as in “yes we reached for the same discounted Crock-Pot in unison and battled for it; I got the slow cooker and he got my number.” What I’m talking about are relationships that start because of the “Crock-Pot effect.”

The “Crock-Pot effect” is when a relationship is a long time coming. It’s when two people meet and are attracted to each other, but usually because of timing problems, they never actually date. Instead, their mutual attraction simmers over long amounts of time, just like meat in a slow cooker would.

Also like food in your Crock-Pot, you have to be extremely careful with the timing. Trying it out too early or waiting too long could be disastrous.

People often lift the lids of their slow cookers to check to see how things are going. People suffering from “Crock-Pot effect” tend to do the same thing. They might get together sometimes or have the occasional hook-up to add some spice, but in the back of their minds they both know it’s too early.

So why am I comparing love to an electrical kitchen appliance? Because seniors are running out of time to get the food out of their Crock-Pots and sit down to dinner.

Maybe you met someone freshmen year living in Gallagher and really hit it off, but you had a boyfriend back home. Then by the time you had broken up with him, your Gallagher guy had a new girl of his own. It’s been back and forth like that your entire Creighton career and you never could get the timing right. The two of you remained friends, but have always felt that you’d end up together in the end. Now you’re both finally single and you aren’t sure if you should risk ruining the friendship or not.

If this is you, just go for it. Make a move, be together and wait for all of your friends to exclaim “FINALLY!”

Or maybe you are the kind of guy who wanted to be free and single in college. During your time at Creighton you met a girl you had a lot in common with. Mainly what you shared was the fact that you both wanted to be single during your undergrad careers. Maybe your attraction for this girl grew stronger throughout the years of parties and spotting each other out on weekends.

The two of you had an unspoken agreement to use each other for back-up dates for social events. It is not uncommon for you to go months without hanging out, but then get a call out of the blue saying you should come over. During Christmas break your mom was on your case about when you would finally settle down. If this girl’s face popped into your head, maybe it’s time to finally try a real relationship and see if it suits you.

And the final scenario is the most difficult of all. Perhaps there is someone who you are really attracted to and know you’d have a phenomenal relationship with, but you don’t want to leave the comfortable relationship you’re already in. As much as you try to push the thoughts out of your head, you can’t help but wonder what it would be like to date the other person.

If this is the case, examine how much time you actually spend thinking about the two different people. If you think about someone else more or even equally as much as you think about someone you’re actually dating, it’s going to be worth risking it all and trying something new.

There definitely isn’t anything wrong with a comfortable relationship, but you can’t stay in it just because it’s comfortable. I mean, my bed is comfortable but I know I can’t stay in it forever. If I did I would wind up with some pretty disgusting bedsores.

As scary as it is, seniors, this is a point in our lives where we actually have to start thinking about the future. Is the person you’re dating now the person you want to be with forever? Or have you just been avoiding the relationship you are meant to have because you had a feeling it could very well be the last one you’ll ever have.

Marriage is probably pretty far away for a lot of people, but the relationships that start now might easily be the ones that eventually take them to the altar.

So if you are a senior, dating a senior or want to be dating a senior, think about where you want to be next year and who you want to be with. It might be time to remove dinner from the “Crock-Pot” and finally give in to what has smelled so tantalizing for so long. I strongly recommend acting with haste because you have little time to waste.