Once upon a time, you fall in love.  You find the man of your dreams and he just seems so perfect.  He does so many wonderful things for you, buys you things, and just puts you up on this very high pedestal.  After awhile, when he is no longer trying to woo you, it all stops.  This man that you fell in love with has done a complete 180 on you, and you’re left wondering what happened. 

I think all relationships start out with both partners being on their best behavior.  Eventually this “honeymoon” stage will end, and then you are left trying to figure out if this new person is the person you want to be with.  Sometimes the “honeymoon” stage lasts up until you are already married to the person, so now you are in a really sticky situation.  This is not the person you married.

Okay, so now you have to decide, what was it about this person that made you fall in love in the first place?  Was it all the little things they did for you?  You’ve got to remember why you fell in love and figure out if this new person still has all the qualities that you fell in love with in the beginning.  Do they still make you feel happy?  Do they make you feel good about yourself?  Do I enjoy spending time with this person?  If you answered yes to these questions, then you still love them and it’s worth trying to rekindle the magic.  You can’t expect it to go back to the way it was, being showered with affection and gifts.  It will never go back to that, not all the time, but it can be like that once in awhile.

The most important thing is to communicate your wants and needs to your partner.  Let them know why you love them, but that you still need the extra attention and spoiling once in awhile.  It’s the little things that matter.  Sometimes it takes doing something little for your partner, remind them what it feels like, and then maybe they will start doing those things for you.  Every healthy relationship will have its ups and downs.  If the relationship is really important to you, you will deal with the rough times and possibly even grow stronger together because of them.  Take care of your partner and speak your mind, then your relationship will flourish and become something so much more than what it was in that “honeymoon” stage.