Mawwiage. Mawwaige is What Bwings Us Togeva, Today.

Yet another famous Princess Bride reference. I'm sure there will be many along the way. :)
A friend of mine at work revealed today that she is engaged, after only dating her boyfriend for four weeks. I certainly have mixed feelings about that, but what I think doesn't really matter. She's definitely been very happy throughout this last month, and if they're in love then who am I to judge. I just hope it's a somewhat long engagement.
But this situation does make me think about marriage and relationships in general. I'm in a very loving relationship right now with C, the best relationship I've ever been in I must say. We've been together for four years which is my longest relationship. And the way it began was not with any of the cliches like chills or fireworks or even flowers. Some of my previous relationships were full of that in the beginning, and they never got past the "honeymoon phase" of a couple months. At least they were good learning experiences.
C and I are both good conversationalists, and that's really what began our interest in each other. Sure, he was someone completely outside the realm of my small town, but we shared a similar interest in TV shows and movies, and of course, there was The Princess Bride. :) He has my same sarcastic wit and we traded barbs immediately. That showed me an intelligence beyond book smarts, although he has plenty of that as well being a physics major. But it was the ease of the conversations I most enjoyed, and after a couple of months we decided to try dating.
I consider our relationship to be a very realistic one. Sure, we had the honeymoon period at the beginning just like everyone else, where we wanted to spend every waking moment together, but after a while we settled into a comfortable rhythm. That's when we realized we had to be ourselves along with being part of a couple, which I think is a very important piece of a successful relationship. We can go off on our own and do our own thing, and still come back at the end of the day to talk about it.
It's these simple, yet not always so simple things, that I think make up a realistic relationship. Going out for burgers, watching a movie, arguing about the dishes, listening to music while discussing a recent South Park episode, that's what being part of a couple is on an everyday basis. It's not like in the movies where there's always something going on, or we fast forward five or ten years where the main characters meet up yet again. There's getting to know each other, and there's getting to know each other after you move in together. And sometimes, there's getting to know each other after getting married or having kids. Each of these stages can bring out aspects of the other person's personality you didn't even know existed. And it's the willingness to adapt to these subtleties that lets you know you really want to stay with that person.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that passion doesn't play a part in a realistic relationship because it REALLY does. :) I'm just saying that it's not enough to sustain a lasting one. It's easy to be enamored with someone; it's not always easy to remain that way for the long haul, nor it is an absolute necessity.
As long as my friend is willing to make things work when they eventually do hit rough times, then she'll know she's found "the one."