icon: "voltaic (me, face at a sharp angle staring out of one eye with a slight smile and streaks of rainbow light on my face)"I LOATHE the idea of a 'honeymoon phase' or 'new relationship energy' (NRE). I hate it like I hate the idea of men being less emotional than women (which, in case you didn't know, is empirically untrue). It implies a lie.
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yes, this. I've been with my partner for almost 16 years, and it definitely ebbs and flows. Sometimes we each have too much going on in our own lives to put as much focus on the relationship as we'd like, but that's an understood thing. As long as it doesn't go too far, it's an accepted part of the cycle.
I think we can't sustain that amount of focus permanently because if we did, we'd wind up ignoring our own needs.
Also, I see the honeymoon phase a little differently. Not only are you getting to know someone new, with all that comes with that, but you're getting to know yourself through someone else's eyes, which can be equally exciting.
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I really like this statement. I know I've had different partners bring out different sides of my personality and it was just as interesting learning about these new sides of me as it was learning about the new sides of them as things started out.
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definitely! I don't think it is healthy to have IFE all the time because then you would not be investing enough in the rest of your life. And it's also not possible to have it all the time because it takes way too much work!
For me, getting to know myself through someone else's eyes is HUGELY exciting but happens just as much with people I know very well as it does with new people. For me, the only time it is lacking is when one or both of us get in a rut where we are not learning and growing (which could happen at any point in the relationship).
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Not only are you getting to know someone new, with all that comes with that, but you're getting to know yourself through someone else's eyes, which can be equally exciting.
Ooh, very true! Actually, that was always one of my favourite parts about seeing somebody new.
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mm, I think I understand the difference you're talking about. There's having a new experience, and then there is discovering a new facet to life. They're both novel, but the second one has far more profound effect.
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