Relationships


Relationship Articles Home Page | Singles7.com Home Page

Vital information and articles related to relationships.


The First Ninety Days


A friend of mine recently commented on the amazing number of romance novels written and the huge amount of money being made in that industry. He then shared his observation that these romance novels don't usually tell their stories beyond the first ninety days or so. He said people just want to read about the romance of falling in love, not of the day-to-day life of being in long-term relationships.

I told him that it's not necessarily ninety days, but that's a fair enough number to use for discussion purposes. I went on to tell him that those first ninety days of a relationship set the tone for the rest of the time you're with someone. Typically, if a relationship goes sour in the first ninety days, it's not going to survive much longer. If on the other hand, it's a beautiful first ninety days, then the relationship has a foundation to grow on. In the first ninety days, the atmosphere of a relationship is set. When rough patches occur in the relationship, the couple often looks back to that honeymoon stage for inspiration to work through the problems. If the first ninety days doesn't create something worth fighting for, then where's the motivation to keep the love alive?

I thought back on some of my own relationships. I have had three major relationships as an adult. One never had a 'first ninety days.' I had decided to marry someone who was just a friend in order to give my two young children a chance at having a dad. The only thing that motivated me to work through the problems was my children's desire to keep their new dad around. When they quit wanting him around, I was no longer motivated to bother with him. Another one's 'first ninety days' only lasted about a month. By the time the first ninety days was over, I had gotten pregnant despite using two forms of birth control. Again, for the sake of our child, I would try to make it work. However, during that first ninety days, he had cheated on me and done many other horrible destructive things to our relationship. Finding the motivation to stick with him was very difficult. Another one had an amazing and wonderful 'first ninety days' that lasted for a year. As a result, I fought tooth and nail to make that relationship work when things weren't going well. All three relationships had good days and bad, but it was so much easier to believe that we could have a beautiful future together if we'd had a beautiful past together.

The first ninety days is very important. It sets the foundation of 'happily ever after.' No relationship can be all perfect all of the time, but with a strong foundation created right from the start, couples have something to hold onto, something to call sacred and holy. That foundation should include elements of romance, trust, magic, attraction, and a likeminded long-term vision of how their life together will unfold. The first ninety days gives you something solid to believe in.

Romance novels typically end with the couple happily married and delighting in the beauty of their children. It's a safe place to end the story because they've already established a rock solid foundation to build their lives upon. Look at the ending of Gone With The Wind. Scarlett and Rhett did not set up a strong foundation at the beginning of their relationship. We were left wondering if he would ever accept her back into his heart. In the sequel, she finally creates 'the first ninety days' with him. She had to create an atmosphere of romance, trust, magic, attraction, and a likeminded long-term vision of how their life together will unfold. She had to be the one to do it, because she was the one who refused his attempts to create that foundation in the first movie. He then had to wrestle with his conflicting memories of the first time they had been together as a couple and the second time they were together. He eventually gets in touch with that part of himself that had loved her all along. They finally can end the story with 'happily ever after' because the foundation was finally built and accepted as real. It's not very often that people get a second chance to create the first ninety days.

I love to ask couples who have been happily married for a long time how they met. I also ask them how they knew this was the right person for them. Their stories of the first ninety days are always beautiful and often last longer than ninety days. So many of them are love at first sight stories. So many of them have one basic element that flows throughout the entire story of their relationship. Just like in the first ninety days, every time they really take a long hard look at their partner, they fall in love all over again. There's something enchanting about that other person that no matter what happens, they keep falling in love with them, over and over and over again. They relive that first ninety days regardless of life's ups and downs. They seldom tell stories of losing faith in the relationship or of ever really wanting to walk away. .

Romance novels sell so well because we love the stories of romance. Movies are no different than books. Look at some of the all time greatest movies that center around love stories. We love to hear of others setting up such amazing and powerful foundations that can never be torn down. It's hidden in the depths of the human soul, that need to believe that happily ever after really happens. We especially like to see the couple overcome adversity only to have it bring them even closer together. It gives us hope. It gives us something to aspire to. We love those first ninety days.

Copyright 2003, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge

About The Author

Skye Thomas began writing books and articles with an everyday practical approach to spirituality, motivation, and inspiration in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, motivation, and parenting. More of her articles can be found at www.tomorrowsedge.net as well as free previews of her books.

skye@tomorrowsedge.net


MORE RESOURCES:

Canada.com

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS Brenda Jones' retaliation claim shows rift
Detroit Free Press, United States - 13 hours ago
The battles over Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's future appear to have harmed the ability of the city's elected officials to work on behalf of residents. ...
What are Kilpatrick's woes costing city, state? Detroit Free Press
all 534 news articles


Relationships affirmed
Mountain Home News, ID - 6 hours ago
In a little over two weeks the town and the airbase will launch a series of reciprocal mutual admiration events. The first is AFAD -- Air Force Appreciation ...


Focus on what matters: Building business relationships
Bizjournals.com, NC - Aug 19, 2008
The principles of Relationship Marketing apply to this for you and me. I think Benjamin Franklin had it right when he advocated that the foreign policy of ...


Living With Crohn's Disease And Having Relationships Can Be Compatible
North American Press Syndicate, NY - 7 hours ago
(NAPSI)-While any relationship can take work, relationships can be especially challenging to develop and maintain for many of the 500000 Americans living ...


MediaPost Publications

Graco Builds On Social Media Relationships
MediaPost Publications, New York - 9 hours ago
By contrast, Graco has pursued a more long-term, community-building approach in an effort to establish more meaningful relationships with the tech-savvy ...


NEWS.com.au

Meg Ryan tells why she broke up with Russell Crowe
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 1 hour ago
While her own relationships failed Miss Ryan built a career starring in romantic films in which love conquers all - including You've Got Mail, Sleepless in ...


The Ins And Outs Of Heather Locklear's Relationships
Corsavoo.com, France - 17 hours ago
However, it may be difficult for Heather to sustain relationships after the first rush of excitement wanes, especially if Locklear's partner is basically a ...


Can football ruin relationships?
GazetteLive, UK - 9 hours ago
Kevin wants to find out what effects football plays on close friends, relatives and partners of fans. He said: “We want those who feel strongly about this ...


READER COMMENTS: "Sons of Iraq patrol recon – building ...
Long War Journal, Medford - 11 hours ago
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 08/19/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front. ...


FLO Corp. and Washington Redskins Begin Enrolling Fans Thursday ...
MarketWatch - 6 hours ago
For example, our business will depend on our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships with travel services, technology, and other companies ...

Relationships - Google News



Relationship Articles Home Page | Relationship Articles Site Map | Singles7.com Home Page
Health | Hairstyles | Fashion57.com | Beauty | Unique Gifts | Trafficfish.com | Entertainment | Institutions | EZmatic | Sofware

Singles7.com - all Vital information and articles related to relationships.

© 2006