Me Being Sappy

So, maybe I'm just suffering from an extended second-honeymoon period following my summer-long absence from Paradise and my hunny, but I've been feeling very much In Love recently, and I wanted to share.

T and I have been together for just over 2 years now, and I have never been this blissed-out and besotted this far into a relationship before.  Which I'm pretty sure means that this is The Real Thing, and that makes me very, very happy.

So I have been thinking about The Real Thing.  I have known for a long time that relationships don't work they way they do in the movies -- most of us don't meet the love of our life and marry them 3 weeks later, he doesn't run to the airport to stop you from getting on the plane, she doesn't forgive you for that huge lie that you told when you first met that she caught you in 6 weeks later, and happily ever after isn't just a quick epilogue.  Happily ever after takes work and dedication, it takes committment and a decision to stay together, it takes communication and flexibility and compromise and tolerance of each other's flaws.

But I think here's the secret: when it's The Real Thing, all of that work isn't hard work.  You don't have to force yourself through it, you're not gritting your teeth and making yourself stay, you're not settling when you settle down.  Instead, you are recieving just as much as you are giving, and the effort you are putting in is more than rewarded by what you get back.  It's like the difference between just having a job and getting paid to do the thing you love.  You still work hard at it, but you enjoy the work as much as your play time.  Tell me if you feel the same way.