Too long has marriage, in this tasteless age, With ill-bred raillery supply’d the stage; No little scribbler is of wit so bare,
But has his fling at the poor wedded pair.
As there is nothing in the world as common as marriage, and as it is something over which men commonly make fools of themselves, it is hardly surprising that it should form the subject matter of most comedies. Read the rest of this entry »
The marriage state, with or without the affection suitable to it, is the completest image of Heaven and capable of receiving in this life.
For what is wedlock forced but a hell, An age of discord and continual strife? Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss, And is a pattern of celestial peace. Read the rest of this entry »
Loving unions are all about giving and taking, making and meeting requests. There are so many small things that each person can ask of and do for the other to make the love grow. For example, Val’s request to be told, at least once a week, that she is breathtakingly beautiful has done wonders for her partnership. Ellen’s request that she be told, at least twice a week, that she is more beautiful than Val has done likewise. And since your partner can’t be expected to read your mind, the premise here is: Ask and ye shall receive. Read the rest of this entry »
Stop number one for most men: In this stage, a man will deal with his problems by simply . . . not dealing. He’ll do just about anything to distract himself from the sad topic at hand—e.g., if he thought that walking over hot coals might help him get his mind off things, he’d happily march right over them. “There’s nothing like a good bungee jump to put things in perspective,” said one thirty-four-year-old respondent. Whatever you say, Geronimo. Read the rest of this entry »
Though most of our money problems stem from some other issue, sometimes when we fight about money, we’re really fighting about money. For instance, let’s say you’re flat broke, or in debt. You don’t know how you got yourself into this situation. So you blame your partner. And she blames you. You’re fighting about money. You can avoid such a pitfall by following this three-step process once a year. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re gonna start you off easy. In a world of false starts, it seems only fitting that there be false ends, too. Hence, the Break Up To Make Up category. Often, these situations are orchestrated to create high drama and rip-roaring post- breakup sex. Read the rest of this entry »
To extend the financial metaphor a little, think of praise as money in your relationship’s bank account. The more praise you give, the wealthier your relationship is.
The problem is that sometimes we intend to compliment our partners but somehow hurt their feelings instead. You can avoid such pitfalls by following this advice. Read the rest of this entry »
People say that music soothes the savage breast of heartache. We aren’t so sure. But a little karaoke recuperation never hurt anyone. In fact, flexing those vocal cords with a few tunes might just make you feel, if not halfway decent, foolish enough to laugh at yourself. Give these old ditties a whirl: Read the rest of this entry »
Old Wives‘ Tale #1: The recovery period for a breakup is roughly half the length of the relationship. In other words, if you’ve just come out of a four-year romance, you can kiss the next two years good-bye. But if you were madly in love for only four months, gosh, you should be right as rain in eight short weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
True friendship rests on our ability to reveal the more vulnerable aspects of ourselves. “Look for a relationship where you can really be yourself and know the other person in a real way,” Dr. Lerner says. “That means sharing both your confidences and your vulnerabilities, and being able to speak freely about anything that’s on your mind.” Read the rest of this entry »
