KingFish said:
The perfect man isn't out there. Do you want to know why he isn’t out there? Because, he doesn’t exist! In my opinion, there is no such thing as perfect. Like every woman, each man has his flaws, his weaknesses, and his strengths. How can a woman expect a perfect man, when women are not perfect? No one is perfect.
Even if he/she IS perfect - it's not normal for them to stay that way. People change. *Character* probably doesn't, but a lot of other things will.
I think I had two big problems with looking for someone - I was always interested in women I needed to "win" - there was something about a woman with only a marginal interest in me. So I was always looking for someone who would never feel the same way about me. The other was - I wanted someone JUST LIKE ME. Somehow, I was sure there'd be a soulmate who I'd see eye to eye with on every level.
What happened to me was unexpected - but absolutely perfect - for *ME*.
I met and fell in love with someone completely UNLIKE me - and filled in all the parts of "me" that were missing. A pastor once commented he'd never counseled or married a couple more unlike each other than us - and one that more complemented each other's weaknesses - than us.
I think TWO things have helped us thus far, although we haven't been married very long. We both realize that life is hard, and our partner is not the answer to fulfillment and happiness in our lives. We both have to find that, ourselves. I do think that the number one reason for divorce is that people are unhappy, but that *much* of that unhappiness has nothing to do with the partner. They get blamed for it, but the unhappy partner is going to be unhappy anyway. I realized I wanted to marry Bluejay when I realized she was happy with everyday life with me. I didn't need to buy her everything, take her everywhere, make her life exciting. I try to do that - because I love her - but it's not my responsibility to fulfill her life - she sees that as HER job. Before her, every woman I was with had a way of making me feel as though I was just one failure away from ending it all, and I didn't want to live that way. I didn't want to live with a continual "what have you done for me lately?" attitude.
The other is reasonable expectations of other people. EVERY person will have 'stuff' that will drive you crazy. You know, the cutest kitten or puppy *will* drive you nuts with SOMETHING. People are more complicated than kittens or puppies. Nothing worthwhile in life comes without some kind of cost. And I'm not talking about how much he snores, or how much she talks or that he has annoying parents or she has cats. It's a lot more than that; your friends, you can walk away from. Your spouse is going to share your life, and that means your time, your family, your money, your bed, your secrets - everything. You have to be grown up enough to know, none of that will ever come easy, ever, ever - it doesn't matter how much "in love" you are. It will alway be hard.
For Bluejay, the biggest selling point to her about me is the incident almost every one here knows about - the night I fell face first into Christy's pool cover, the night of her New Year's Eve party back in '02. I got up, laughed, and went inside soaking wet, unfazed. To her, that was an indicator of something about ME that she has learned to appreciate even more as the years have gone on - I don't easily get upset and I can put up with a lot of crap without letting it bother me.
I guess in a nutshell - the two things are patience, and forgiveness, and some people are really too young to have much of either. When you're older - like we were - you'll lose your mind if you don't learn this. People will let you down. You have to decide whether or not you can put up with their failings, and whether their attempts to make good are sincere or not.
My favorite 'mantra' for life is to focus on what's important in life. That means little annoying things that your spouse does wouldn't matter to you for a cold second if you're by their bedside in the hospital and the situation is critical. Morbid as it sounds - that day is coming. So you have to learn to ignore it now so you can have no regrets and enjoy life now.
Ok, 'nuff soapboxing.