The VitallyMe Blog: Fairy Tale Ending?

... and so the prince and princess lowered their expectations and for several months, lived as happily as anyone in a modern relationship could reasonably hope for.

THE END

Now wouldn’t that set a much more realistic expectation for children and adults than the classic fairy tale ending?

What for you is a reasonable expectation of relationship?

a) For some it is the centrepiece of a happy and fulfilled existence – family – spouse – children – grand-children…

b) For others it’s a burden to carry in addition to other responsibilities – work – achievement – assets – security…

c) For others it’s a means to an end – together is more effective than apart – a team effort brings efficiency – reaching out leads to new possibilities – pooling resources makes us more powerful…

d) And for others it’s a mystery to be lived – take it as it comes – go with the flow – no need for conflict – bend rather than break…

If there were scales of say 0 – 10 on each option, where would you place yourself? And where would you place your partner on each scale compared to yourself?

Now what did you say your “reasonable expectation of relationship” was? Perhaps we all write our own fairy tales!

If only the world and our partners would adjust to suit our preferences! If only they would appreciate a good ‘b-7, d-7’ combination – then my life would be so comfortable. But they keep throwing ‘a-9, c-9’ combinations at me… how can there be any “happily ever after” in that!

Most tales include a challenge that the hero or heroine must face and a crisis that tests his or her mettle. What if our challenge is our “reasonable expectation of relationship” and a crisis is just a reminder of that challenge?

OMG! Perhaps we try to write our own fairy tale endings but leave the challenges and the crises out of the story! Does anyone know how to meet an ‘a-9, c-9’ challenge? OMG! I live with someone who handles that with ease – every day!