My wife of 26 years and I were making dinner the other night and between shifts of chopping and mixing I was waxing philosophical about what women want. So, naturally I sort of put the question to her in my typically male off-handed way, so what is it that woman want? The answer was not
Candlelit dinners. Champagne. Diamonds. Roses. Imported Chocolates.
NOTE TO MEN: If you haven’t planned or purchased something from this list, you’re likely going to have a horrible night this Feb. 14th (and one without any lovemaking). Why? Blame it on romantic fantasy. It starts long before our first Valentine’s purchase or our first kiss. We’ve heard “happily-ever-after” fairy tales since kindergarten. We’ve grown up viewing “diamonds-are-forever” commercials.
As adults, we experience the commercialization of Valentine’s Day as a day of great expectations, and just as often, great disappointments when our beloved’s gift-giving (or lack thereof) doesn’t support our romantic dreams.
A Beatles song captures the imagination of youthful love in the verse, “When she crossed that room, my heart went boom and I fell in love with her.” When we are hit with that thunderbolt, we become teenagers again as a tsunami of chemicals amass the feelings of love at first sight. At this point,
“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.” —Anaïs Nin The way a relationship begins is often a far cry from what it’s like
“The married are those who have taken the terrible risk of intimacy and, having taken it, know life without intimacy to be impossible.” – Carolyn Heilbrun For most of us, the word intimate conjures up romantic images of candlelit dinners, slow dancing, and long passionate kisses. Romantic gestures are certainly a dominant theme of intimacy,
With so many marriages going up in flames many people are turned off by the whole idea of it. How can it last for a lifetime? What makes some marriages last and yet others fall apart at the seams? Many of the marriages that do last are nothing to write home about, so why do
Ben was nervous as he drove to Sarah’s apartment for their first date. Had he taken care of everything? He made reservations at the nicest restaurant, showered, put on his favorite outfit and was arriving just a few minutes late to give her a bit more time. Sarah was rushing inside her apartment which was
It’s 5:30 AM and I am awakened by the swift moving thud of paws walking over my body to get to my side. Jake is purring like a ’57 Chevy on steroids. As he thumps down next to me with his back up against my stomach, I instantly know what he is up to. He
If you can hold in mind your love for each other and keep that before you at times of great difficulty and in all situations… If you can make being right less important than being connected, and instead work toward harmony and grace… If you can keep your head while everything in you screams for
“Only love, only long empathy and identification and compassion can root another person in their heart so deeply there’s no escaping your hatred of her, not ever; especially not when the thing you hate most about her is your capacity to be hurt by her.” –Jonathan Franzen from his book Purity “If fear is the