From Here to There

In a romantic relationship, when the passion is dying, and real life starts seeping in, it can be a very emotional time.  The nature of your love, if it still exists, is changing.  It’s maturing. It’s becoming a little less, well, passionate.  It might still be romantic on occasion, but to sustain romance all the time takes everything you have, and most of us aren’t successful at that, intentionally or otherwise. Once you come to accept that romance is fleeting, and short-lived (at best), you realize just HOW important that close friendship (or lack thereof) that you share with your partner, has become.  Especially if you want to land right-side-up when the roller-coaster ends.

On the other hand, when you start with a close friendship, that relationship may eventually get peppered with romance (which is great!), yet the foundation remains a deep and caring friendship.  That kind of relationship usually involves a mutual respect and admiration, a good sense of humor, and a genuine concern for the other person’s well-being and happiness.  You listen to each other and therefore know each other better than anyone else in your lives.  You both feel loved.  And you trust each other. Completely.  That is the kind of relationship I want.