Decisions

I read Merlin Mann’s piece earlier and while I kinda disagree with some of the specifics (every relationship is different, just like he said), I like what I took as the core of it –– that in some ways a relationship is a decision. Or a series of decisions. It doesn’t just ‘happen’.

In the dim and increasingly distant past, I was in a long term relationship. Thirteen years. Imagine that. Me. Thirteen years.

Three of them were good. Seven were so-so. The final three were just shitty.

When Erin and I got together we took some huge risks. We both knew we were both rolling the dice in a very large way. The only way I could see to make those risks worthwhile was to make a conscious decision to not be the guy I was in the shitty years of my last relationship. I took stock of myself, made a mental catalogue of my flaws, and resolved to do what I could to knock the rough edges off.

We’re a natural couple in most ways. We fit right together. We want to stay together too. So we decided to do what needs to be done to achieve that.

It’s that simple. And that complex.