Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

I think it's common knowledge men don't really like to talk about past relationships. I'm not entirely certain what they're thinking about this - I don't have a penis, therefore I draw no conclusions. Perhaps they think jealous frenzies will occur or that we are looking for dirt, something to hold against them in a future battle of wills. We are after all, according to Dane Cook, brain ninjas. My reasoning is so much simpler than all that... I want to know where you've been to see what you've learned. The past is the past. More than likely you aren't that person any longer. I know I'm not even the same girl I was last week. My point is though that you do that funny thing you do in bed because of a previous girlfriend. I don't take it up the ass because of Mr. X. Because really? I did that already for years. I may still have some bitterness towards the man, but I learned a lot of lessons and those lessons will directly affect any realtionship I have. I don't mean that I have 'trust issues' because dude was a lying jackass. That seems unwarranted to take out on another human being. Any trust issues I have with that person should stay solely with that person. Will I ever blatantly ignore obvious signs of things that do not need to be swept under a rug? No. Have I learned to ask the seemingly stupid question? Yes.
So when I ask about the ex, I' m not looking for gory details. I'm looking for the story behind the gory details. The why of it all. I know one previous person I went out with broke up with someone after 7 seven years. Why? Because he was bored. Now I'm betting there is more to it than that, I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. But truly, the moment I heard that I thought to myself, 'Self. Now would be a good time to run. This is not going to end well.' Sidenote: I totally need to listen to my inside voice more because it was totally right. That moment that he told me he ended it because of boredom I kind of wanted to hit him with a wiffle ball bat dosed with reality. I doubt with great seriousness that I am any more realistic than the next woman, but I know that certain things happen in relationships. One of them is boredom. You ride it out. I knew in the brief second time span that it took him to say the word 'boredom', that this was not a man who saw things out, and I know that that is something I want in another person.
Next time a date, a potential significant other, asks about the ex - please don't assume we're insane. Some of us are, yes. I concur. Some of us, however, are simply deciding if we'd like to put forth the effort to be your brain ninja for life.