Balance is key. Live your own life but make time for your partner as well.
By Jane Greer, Ph.D., Relationship & Sex Talk for GALtime.com
Kirsten Dunst and Garret Hedlund reportedly spent a lot of time together at the Sundance Film Festival. But when they get back to a more regular schedule, the co-stars of the upcoming movie “On the Road” might be faced with that question all new couples must deal with: How do we mesh our worlds without giving up what is important to us individually and possibly losing ourselves in the process? In other words, how much time should we spend together?
Low and behold what adventures a single girl can get into on a bench in front of a porn shop.
by Julie Robinson
What can you do solo? Can you go out to eat? Enjoy a glass of wine at a patio bar full of people? Watch a movie in the theater on a Saturday night? Attend a concert or sporting event? Normally, I prefer to go to bars with friends, but last Friday that wasn’t an option so I methodically applied my make-up, put on an Audrey Hepburn black dress, donned some heels, and set out on my own. . . .
A natural loner, now a wife and mother of two, goes on regular sabbatical.
I love my husband and two kids, enormously. But I love being alone, too, and for long stretches. It's what feels natural to me, a former happy loner. This was my biggest concern before getting married: could I live with someone, or several someones, for an extended time, no matter how much love was involved? To my relief, I discovered having a family, and living with them, is lovely... but only most of the time.
Dating does more for a marital relationship--and the kids--than you can imagine.
My niece and her husband just had their first baby, so I sent them a restaurant gift card, with a note: "Use this. Soon. Just you two."
I know what I'm talking about.
Single ladies: don't be in such a rush to "put a ring on it." Enjoy this time while you have it. Don't spend so much time and energy looking for a mate because, once you have one, you're stuck with him for life. Take this time to learn to enjoy yourself, so that you're fully equipped to continue doing it when you're married.
Separation teaches a couple about deal breakers and letting go in their relationship.
I'm taking a do-over on my marriage after a two-year break. My almost ex-husband and I are looking for a new place to live, and this time we're going in with a plan and clearly defined expectations for how our lives together should look. No way could we have done that 12 years ago or even two years ago when I left. For this marriage to have any chance of making it, it first had to come all the way undone. I met Sam in line for Grateful Dead tickets a few months after I started my first out-of-college reporting job. He was tall and tan and big across the shoulders with brown hair hanging down to his chest. Thirteen years later, we sat on our therapist's couch not touching. "You met me in line for Dead tickets, who did you think you were marrying?" he asked. Right then the answer was easy. I thought I was marrying someone who'd grow up with me as we grew older. And I thought I married someone who'd catch the irony of that comment, because he met me in line for tickets, too. And I was there first.
!["Together Time"—How Much Is Too Much? [EXPERT]](http://images.tangomag.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-full/images/springlove.jpg "\"Together Time\"—How Much Is Too Much? [EXPERT]")
