The Glaring Omission in Fairy Tales

When I was a teenager, I always thought that the challenge was meeting the right person. But now I’m a little less green I realise that there are probably hundreds of potentially pretty good matches out there. The challenge is not in the meeting.

Personally, I love the meeting. Everything’s new, exciting and you’ve a healthy dose of lust to help along the way. Both parties are pretty well behaved because of the lack of familiarity (which we all know it breeds contempt) everything is zingy, sharp, fresh.

Also, it’s fair to say neither party are truly being themselves. It’s a sanitised version. Better groomed. More positive, upbeat, joyful, fun (I could spew these adjectives for days). It’s blissful.

But not real.

The next stage, once the first flush of the honeymoon period is over has it’s benefits though. Sure, you might miss the excitement, but it becomes more real as you start to feel more secure in the relationship.

But ultimately there is no happily ever after. It’s never that simple.

I often wonder how Cinderella dealt with Prince Charming’s less than charming habit of sprinkling when he was tinkling. When the Palace was repossessed (due to failure to repay the loan secured on it) did they pull together or fall apart?

Romantic it ain’t, but it interests me more.

It’s tough making a relationship work. I think that given around half of marriages in the UK end in divorce, perhaps this is an understatement.

It’s all part of the journey though right?