Saturday, 29 November 2008

• Things I Miss About Being in a Relationship

  This is a guest blog submitted by Roadlesstaken.
    
  

  The other day, I met up with an ex who was not only my longest relationship but was also the only girl I've ever truly loved.  It took a while to get over her, but I eventually did. When people give the cliché advice that time heals all wounds, they are absolutely right. I never would have imagined just a year ago that I would eventually be so comfortable around her again. I still massively care about her and hope only good things to come to her, but I no longer feel the same feelings of love I used to have. 
  
  So anyway, we met up for dinner to catch up on some old times and we ended up talking for hours about what seems like everything. Eventually it got to the topic of a failed romantic adventure I had (that some of you might know about). After telling my ex about it, she kinda laughed and told me, "That's such a [Roadlesstaken] thing to do." 
  
  For whatever reason, that made me think about my love life over the course of the past 4-5 years.  From the summer before my senior year of high school to the summer before senior year of college, I have pretty much been in three back-to-back long-term relationships. Since last summer, I've had a few "encounters" and dates, but nothing too serious or long-lasting. I started to think that I was just very lucky during these past 4-5 years of my life and rationalized that now all the good girls are either 1) taken or 2) too far away from me.
  
  You would think that after being in relationships for so long I would relish being single, but that isn't the case at all.  If you watch How I Met Your Mother, I'm more of a Marshall than a Barney.  "I'm good for couple, bad for single," as Marshall once said.
  
  I feel like I've matured and learned a lot of lessons during my time being single.  I'm staying patient for now, but I honestly can't wait until I'm in another relationship so I can apply some of those things I've learned, as well as take in all the perks of being in a relationship.  What perks? 
  
  Below are my Top 5 Things I Miss About Being in a Relationship:
  5.  Having someone to go do things with all the time.  I didn't realize how much I missed this aspect until it was gone.  It's so great having someone you can always ask to go eat brunch, see a movie, watch a concert, see a show, or even just be lazy together.  I will never take that for granted ever again.
  
  4.  Showing off my girl. Not like treating her like an object of mine, but just being able to say to someone, "Hey, see that gorgeous, intelligent, funny girl over there?  For whatever reason, she's with a shmuck like me."  It makes me feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world.
  
  3.  Being able to act a fool with someone.  In other words, being allowed to expose myself in ways I wouldn't around others. Singing at the top of my lungs or being super cheesy with a girl, completely not caring how ridiculous we sound, is such a refreshing feeling. If I ever mention in the future about things that I take great pleasure in that are the simpler things in life, mark this down as one of them.
  
  2.  Having an excuse to be my hopeless romantic self. I don't care what people say about chivalry and being a gentlemen nowadays, but I'm doing my best to keep it alive and well.  I'm the type of guy that watches romantic comedies, sees all those meet-cute situations and says "who says those things can't happen in real life?" When I had a girlfriend, it gave me the excuse to go all out at times, whether it be surprising my girl with flowers and her favorite soda during a particular stressful time, or getting a local a cappella group to pop up and sing for her in a public place (which sadly didn't work out as planned, but that's a story for another time).  It can take a lot of effort, but the end result of seeing my girl genuinely surprised and ecstatic makes it all worth it.
  
  Finally, the number one thing I miss the most:
  1.  Simply, the feeling of falling in love.
  
  What are some of the best parts of being in a relationship for you?  Are the things on my list similar to what you would put on a list like this?
  

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