13 things I’ve Learned from My Six Month Relationship
By Lance on Feb 21, 2009 in Relationships
Did everyone have a totally sweet Valentine’s Day? YAAAKKK. That was me tossing my cookies. I tried my best to break up with my girlfriend of six months right before V-Day and it almost worked…we broke up for three days after she pulled some sneaky stuff, and I was hoping it would last through the weekend so I could be spared the lameness of actual V-Day activities.
Unfortunately, my scheming didn’t work. We broke up and got back together late Friday the 13th. Smokin’ hot makeup sex ensued, and I was obligated to buy a gift and take her to dinner on Saturday, which is exactly what I did. Things have moved on from there. In case you’re keeping score, that’s FOUR pseudo breakups in the span of six months. Yes, I have a f’ed relationship. What, did you expect the perfect romance?
Since I just hit the half year mark in my rather unusual relationship, this post is about the 13 things I’ve learned since getting a girlfriend. Buckle your seat belts.
1. LTR’s are a shitload of work. You’re pretty much working at it all the time, and even if you’re not actively working on it, you’re probably expending mental cycles on how to maintain, fix, or improve your relationship. One issue I have is I don’t think about my LTR when I’m not around my girlfriend, and this gets me in trouble all the time. By contrast, she thinks about me and the LTR virtually every waking minute.
I don’t think it’s healthy to think about your relationship every waking minute. It’s exhausting. Plus, I have too many other creative projects to work on. Opinions? How often do you think about your GF/BF when that person is not around?
2. The sex evolves and generally improves after the transition from dating to LTR, but it comes and goes in waves. Generally, though, the quality is better than with a chick I’m just “dating.” My sexual skill set is fully utilized and I’m constantly challenged to get better in this area. I know I could probably “relax” and not work on the sex since I now have easy access to it, but I know that every aspect of my relationship would suffer if I did. I stress about this.
3. I want to nail other chicks. Not exactly a big shocker. What I do think is interesting is I know I could have unattached sex with other women and not have my feelings be affected for Megan. Like, I wouldn’t fall in love with another chick or anything like that. I’ve analyzed the emotions associated with this and determined that nailing hot chicks is just part of my core programming. I’m constantly asking myself, why is sex such a big deal? Why is it considered cheating? How did we get to a position where lifelong monogamy is considered “healthy?” I think it’s unhealthy to have only one partner for long stretches, say anything over 1 year. I’m fairly certain that if I had sex with other chicks, it would have the effect of rejuvenating my current relationship. Figure that one out.
No, I haven’t cheated on my girlfriend. That’s by choice.
4. It’s okay to get into a LTR even if you’re not a perfect match. There’s plenty of value to exchange in an imperfect relationship. A corollary to this: short-term relationships can be considered successes, too. We should move away from thinking of relationships as failures if they don’t end in marriage. That’s ridiculous. Give value and enrich each other and when it’s time to move on, move on.
5. People can change their behaviors. In a relationship, if you do something douchebaggy, that behavior can be modified with the right stimulus. The notion that people don’t change or that old dogs can’t be taught new tricks is ridiculous. In fact, if you’re really committed to a relationship, you need to embrace the notion that you have to modify your partners behavior and modify your own behavior. Don’t like the sound of that? You’re probably not ready for an LTR because you’ll keep making the same mistakes. Humans are adaptable creatures and capable of immense change.
6. Accept Confrontation. Don’t pussyfoot around when your partner acts like a douchebag. Occasionally use negative reinforcement. Avoid yelling, hysterics, and violence, but do bring it strong and stick to your guns. Seriously, this is another mistake I see in a lot of relationship advice. Too much sugarcoating. Humans are designed for confrontation. Use confrontation constructively. This is why guys can get into horrible fights with each other and then go get a beer in about five minutes. Confrontation is okay.
7. Apologize wholeheartedly when you f*ck up. I’ve done a lot of apologizing over the last six months because I act like a douchebag sometimes. Who doesn’t?
8. Even at the six month mark, I’m still running game on my partner. It’s a different type of game, but it’s still game. I talked to an older friend of mine, married for 30 years, and he said that he still “plays games” with his wife. Megan runs her chick game on me and I have to do my thing back. If I don’t, things get stale. It’s a lot of work.
9. Relationships are the death of creative projects and free time. Okay, that’s a little harsh, but it’s extremely difficult to balance a LTR and any personal project you have going on outside of a day-job. I totally get why busy professionals stay single. If you’re in a serious relationship, that’s basically the only major project you can work on. It better be what you want.
10. It is possible to break up and still be non-sexual friends. You have to accept that you can’t hate someone because of a breakup, avoid blame, and realize that you’ll be alright as a single person again. Don’t rule out the possibility of just being friends with former lovers.
11. Everyone is selfish, including you, and this will affect every part of your relationship. I had to embrace this and treat some portions of my relationship like a business, ie an exchange where we both benefited, in order for us to progress. Not very romantic, but romance is lame anyway. Maybe I just haven’t evolved into a higher life form where selflessness is de rigueur.
12. The most unselfish part of my relationship is in the bedroom! I freely giveth in this area.
13. There’s no such thing as a perfect match.
Bam, 13 thought bombs from my half year relationship. I hope you get some value from it. Feel free to tackle any one of these points in comments.
If this post made you want to leap feet-first into a long term relationship, you should also read these posts:
