The Official Weekend Singles Thread—July 28-30

OhioWfan, Kate of Spice Island, Maximus Ridiculousness

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

A perspective on marriage, looking for a marriage partner, and cyberdating. 

Presented to you by OhioWfan, Kate of Spice Island, and Maximus Ridiculousness.

OhioWfan's Perspective on Making Marriage Work:

My 'assignment' for this special weekend singles thread was to outline what I believe are the ingredients of a long-term successful, loving marriage.  Obviously, in the 'it takes two to tango' spirit, I engaged my adorable life-partner/incredible husband in the task, and together we compiled a list of recommendations and qualities that we believe have made our marriage work so well.   Neither of us is perfect (especially me........he's close!), but we went into marriage with commitment and thought as well as love, and after 30 years we are more passionately in love than ever before, and are each other's deepest and most trusted friend.

 

We have grouped our thoughts in two categories.......considerations before marriage, and goals as part of marriage.   There is nothing new nor revolutionary here, but we believe these things together have worked to make our marriage incredibly close, and a lot of fun. They are generally applicable, with some specific illustrative examples of our own relationship. 

 

I.    Important things to consider prior to marriage

• Be picky.  Being single is FAR better than being married to the wrong person.  (Women, you are not 'incomplete' without a man......withstand the cultural pressure to get married early).  Wait for the right one, and don't go into marriage with the idea that you can 'fix' the other person.  It doesn't work out that way.

• My personal best advice: Marry somebody much nicer than yourself.  It worked for me. :)

• Become best friends.   Friendship is the most important part of marriage.  Feelings ebb and flow, and circumstances change, but if your spouse is your closest friend, you can weather anything.

• Talk all the time about everything:  Goals, values, beliefs, dreams, raising children and the values and beliefs you want to teach them, money, sex, interests, (politics!).  Make sure you know exactly who you are marrying, and remember that you are going to be sharing a lifetime together so you need to get along.

• Restrain your physical relationship to ensure that a REAL relationship develops. (The current advice is wrong!  You don't need any physical relationship before marriage to find out if it's 'going to work.'  In fact, we believe it 'works' better if you don't).  A great deal of the complete trust that we have in each other stems from the fact that we, with great difficulty, disciplined ourselves to stay pure before we were married.  For us it has made a big difference.

II.    In Marriage

• Communication.  Keep talking about anything and everything, good and bad, but do it with respect ALWAYS.   When you are upset, saying 'It seems to me' and 'It feels like you...'  shows far more respect and calms the waters better than saying 'You do this.'   Keep sharing your goals and dreams and help each other to achieve them.

• Honesty.  (None of this sneaky hinting around to get your own way, ladies).  Tell the truth right out front.  It's refreshing, and it leads to a healthy, non-manipulative relationship.  Don't make your spouse 'guess' about how you feel, and never 'assume' that he/she already knows it. 

• Trust.  It has to be built.   Having shared values is the beginning of trust; living up to those values makes it grow.

• Common values.  Nurture the ones you have discussed prior to marriage. 

 

• Common spiritual goals.  Go to church/synagogue together regularly.  Discuss your faith as it grows.   Read together and discuss what God's word says.   We have, from the beginning, sought to have a marriage that is God-centered, and believe that the depth and joy in our relationship are directly related to God's blessing on our lives.  We both came from strong Christian homes, and knew that it was our goal to have a Christ-centered family, and have worked and prayed to that end.

• A sense of humor.   Laugh often.  Don't take most things too seriously, and be able to laugh at your own foibles.  We happen to have a quirky family with some really off-beat people in it (not me, of course).  That's part of our family identity, and we're proud of it.  We know that other people may think we're a bit weird, but we're OK with that........because we ARE. :)   Oh..........but watch the sarcasm.   If uncontrolled, it can cut deep.

• Random acts of kindness.   I happen to be the recipient of many of these in our relationship.  My husband randomly brings home a lovely red rose with a card that just says "I love you."  It makes my heart melt.

• Encourage and compliment often.  Even if you've said the same thing a million times before, say it again...."You're cute" is a good one.  You can't help but feel loved if your spouse thinks you're adorable at the age of 56!

• Don't let minor irritations blow up into major issues.  Talk about them, but don't overplay their importance. Chances are that a few of them will still be there even after 30 years. :)   Toothpaste tube stuff just isn't worth being mad about.

• Apologize, apologize, apologize.   Sometimes you may think you're only partially to blame, but saying you're sorry for your part in a problem only helps in its solution.  (Note.......I do this a lot because I am often entirely to blame).

• Support each other's interests even if not your own passion.  We have a good example in our relationship.  I love Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald movies.   Mr. O thinks they're OK, but he watches one whenever I've got a hankering to.... just because he loves me.  And I will watch "Man from Snowy River" with him for the 137th time for the same reason.

• Nurture your relationship.  Protect it from jobs, kids, etc.  According to James Dobson, the best way to love your kids is to love their Mom.  He's right.  We always let our kids know that our relationship came first and they never had a problem with it.  Now that they're adults, they really respect the relationship that they observed growing up and have it as the goal for their own lives.

• Time alone.  Keep 'dating.'  Go off for romantic trysts together.  Set aside time for yourselves because it doesn't just appear.  And if you have kids, try not to talk about them the entire time you're away.  We have celebrated the anniversary of our first date many years, and this year (30th anniversary!) we went to the same restaurant in Pennsylvania that we went to on our first date.  Talk about romantic!

• Hold hands and kiss.........a lot!   This is most likely self-explanatory, but it may need to be said that holding hands is vastly underrated as a sensual tool to keep you 'in touch.'  Sit close in church.   Kiss each other at random moments.   Cuddle at the movies.  Hug whenever possible. It makes a difference.

• Say "I love you" every chance you get.  Make it the last thing you say every time you talk, and just say it 'out of the blue.'  It never gets old to know you are loved.

• Be sexual outside the bedroom (in private!).  No details needed here.  Keep the flame burning.

• Pray together.....any time, any place, any circumstances, and pray for each other.  Most of all, thank God for your husband or wife..........it is a great gift to have a life-partner with whom to share the good and bad times of life.  Be thankful.

• Give and keep giving.   The saying is that you need to give 50-50, but the truth is it has to be 100-100.  And the giving must be done without the expectation that you will 'get' something back for it.  Selflessness.  It's a tough one.

• Respect and honor the other more than you honor yourself.  This grows over time.  What begins as the desire for it to be so, soon becomes the reality.  And make it your goal to care about the other's wants and needs more than you care about your own.......in every area of your relationship.  It's not in our human nature, but it's the only way to make marriage successful and truly happy. 
• Do fun stuff together.  Sports, hiking, walking (a great time for that 'communication' thing), cycling, tennis, ping-pong, basketball, spelunking, white water rafting, wrestling...........hehe..........OR.........you can even read!  A zest for living, physical fitness, and the 'togetherness' you get having fun in an active way are unbeatable.

• And never, ever stop talking.

So............these are the things that we both believe have helped make our marriage strong.   The details may be different for others, but we believe the principles apply for every couple wanting to make their marriage really succeed.  Some people say a good marriage takes 'work,' but we both disagree.  We think that being married and trying to keep our marriage alive is great fun.  It's God's plan, and it's awesome to be right in the middle of it!

Kate and Phil's Story of Love and Marriage

Phil and I first met back in the teen years when I started working at a local drive-in movie theatre where he was employed. There was a "no dating coworkers" policy and we were both into following (some) rules and didn't want to get fired, so we were just friends instead.

 

Apparently, we were both interested in each other, but too shy/insecure/whatever...to say anything, but we became friends.

 

I remember going to his house and he to mine when we were still in high school, but he was older and went off to college. During a few of his weekend visits, we went on a few dates, but then I didn't see him again for a good four or five years.

 

By then I was married AND pregnant, but ran into Phil at work, so it was strange (for both of us apparently) in the wishful thinking at that time. From time to time, I would go by his work and say hi when we were in town. By the time my marriage was definitely over (but I still had hopes of it not being over) Phil had gotten married and although his marriage was heading for over...neither of us was willing to admit that we were

separated from our spouses and divorces were filed.

 

We each went about our lives and once he changed jobs, I had no clue where he was. (Prior to that, where I would visit was a place where I would also visit my bestest high school friend's father as he worked in another department.)

 

Meanwhile, he had been looking for and looking up former classmates and one in particular that I also happened to know. This mutual friend had lived away from where we are now and I had all but given up talking to him ever again, when on a whim I looked him up in the phone book (kind of a one last time deal, as I couldn't remember Phil's last name, I didn't look him up and even if I remembered, I probably could have never spelled it...)

 

So, lo and behold, our mutual friend was listed and had been for a few years and I gave him a call. Meanwhile, between classmates.com and a high school reunion, Phil and our mutual friend had been talking and e-mailing, and Phil asked him if he knew how to get in contact with me, and the friend gave Phil my e-mail address.

 

So, our real official long-term dating was cyber dating as Phil had moved to TX and I was in Phoenix. We went from the occasional e-mail to IM and phone calls and that evolved to a long distance romance.

 

I went to Texas and lived with Phil for a year, but knew my heart was with my children and family. Phil was adamant about staying in TX.

 

Every time Phil asked me to marry him, I asked if he would consider moving to Phoenix. He kept saying no, so I returned to Phoenix.

 

When I ran away to safety and Phil's care I knew he loved me and would take care of me. When he let me go and let me move back to Phoenix to be with my children, I knew he loved me enough to let me go and be where I belonged.

 

When he asked me if I would marry him if he moved to Phoenix, he got the answer I wanted to give him all along.

 

We have been married just over four months and are still working on getting into a life and a routine in Phoenix and still feel like we are trying to get settled in, but we have come a long way together and are looking forward to many years of happiness and joy with my children and grandchild(ren).

 

For how long we have been friends, and the things we liked about each other, are still there.

Getting used to habits has been hard (I am secretive in general and I also kept a few government secrets for a long time that I don't keep secret any more), but by nature I just have never been a "talker", so that is changing.

 

He likes reality TV, my reality is like the TV show, "Medium." We both like "24" and wouldn't want it any other way.

 

We both enjoy sports and look forward to the Cowboys VS Cardinals game later this fall.

 

We managed to attend the same three schools of higher education, just never were both at any one at the same time.

 

I think the biggest piece of advice we can offer the single crowd is don't put yourself above dating anyone with "baggage" as you have clearly got "emotional baggage" in the form of selfishness. I know that God didn't make selfishness, but He did make caring and compassion. A heart of gold is worth far more than a free lunch...

 

When a heart of gold is the heart within, you will find someone for you with that exact same quality.

 

Did I mention that Phil also is conservative and was busy advocating for Bush before we started to discuss politics? I just loved sending him links to caption Kerry two summers ago.

Barb's Two Cents on Being a Newlywed and Some Advice on Cyberdating

Ahhhh...the bliss of being newly married!  What joy!  The birds are singing.  The bees are buzzing.  The flowers are blooming...

Okay, for me our honeymoon was a little different from most.  Actually, our wedding was a little different from most.  You see, hubby and I eloped (with 40 of our closest friends and relatives) in Reno in 2003—four weeks before he was to deploy to Iraq.  We were already engaged, and had planned on a summer wedding, but one cold winter day, hubby got "the call", and three days later we found ourselves in Reno tying the knot.

Our honeymoon consisted of phone calls, emails, letters between here and Iraq—and lots of insomnia.  At first it was strange being married to a man who was suddenly 6500 miles away, and it was even stranger that I could talk to him only when he was able to call me (every two to three weeks or so).

And so it went.

Our "real" honeymoon came 18 months later.  We spent a week in Vegas (yeah, I know some folks find it a tacky place for a honeymoon, but hubby's never been, and I love the Luxor).  We gambled, saw some of the shows, gambled, ate at the various restaurants, gambled, walked the Fremont Street Experience, gambled, got SMASHED in Quark's Bar and harassed a poor Borg and Klingon at the Hilton where they have the Star Trek Experience (we almost got kicked out—but we snapped some hilarious photos), and we gambled some more.

All fun and games aside, our marriage (going on year four now) is a very solid one.  Hubby has a heart of gold, and I could not ask for a better man.  I would have to say that absence made our marriage grow stronger.  We still feel like newlyweds.  We are like “kids” with each other.  We are the two most happy-go-luckiest-people I know, on the planet. 

Some advice on cyberdating.

Back in the day, I was the Queen of Cyberdating.  I started meeting men online as far back as 1996.  Match.com was the ONLY online dating site (with something like, 200 local members).  It took a lot of chatting, meeting bozo after bozo, and dating horrible men who were nothing like their profiles before I realized I was doing everything wrong from the very beginning.  By the time I met my hubby in a Yahoo chatroom by total  accident (most of you know this story)  5 years later, I had finally learned some very big lessons. 

That said, here are some of my do’s and don’ts when it comes to cyberdating:

• Be honest about yourself in your profile, and post an accurate, recent picture of yourself.  By all means, SMILE.  If you don’t, you’ll look angry and unapproachable.   Trust me.  You’ll want a pic (or several pics) of yourself doing some favorite activity, and at least one nice head-and-shoulder shot.
• Be concise and to the point when writing your profile.  Be eloquent, and don’t ramble incessantly.  Poetry is big turn-off for a lot of people.  Unless you are a master, avoid poetry at all costs. You’ll put people to sleep.  List your preferences accurately and pick people to chat with who are close to what you’re looking for.  Don’t fall for an ultra-liberal America-hating chick…just because she’s really hot.
• Try and meet someone who lives within driving distance.  Unless you have the time and money to travel, stick to meeting your potential future spouse  within a reasonable distance from you.  Don’t fall in love with someone you can’t afford to fly out to meet.
• Don’t fall in love with the very first nice looking person (whom you know nothing about) who gives you the time of day.  Stick to your guns.  If you’re looking for your future spouse, keep in mind all of the qualities you are looking for in that person. Don’t ever lose focus.
• Sell yourself.  Tell your potential future spouse what a great person you are.  Don’t be negative or down about yourself.  Don’t appear pathetic.  Be yourself and put your best foot forward.  If you don’t appear to be a reasonably healthy, happy, positive person you’ll scare people away.   Trust me. 

GIRLS:  Meet your potential future spouse in a very public place.  For your very first date, only meet for coffee or drinks where you can chat for as long or as short as you are comfortable with.  It’s easier to split the scene quickly if you are just sipping something, and not in the middle of dinner or stuck with a loser date in the middle of a 3-hour flick.  NEVER leave your drink unattended.  Before you use the restroom, finish your drink, or order a new drink once you’re back to your table.  By all means, drive yourself to your destination, DO NOT EVER let your date pick you up on your first date.  Tell a friend, family member, someone—anyone—where you will be and when you should be home.  Take your cell phone with you.  Park in a visible area.

• This is probably the toughest part about meeting your future spouse—know exactly what you are looking for and settle for nothing less.  Do not fall in love with someone's potential, but for who they really are.   This was the one mistake I made over and over.  Don't ever meet someone and try and fix them later.  Also, be realistic.  Unless you’re a super hot daddy, don’t go looking for a super hot mama. 

 It took me years and years of dating the same type of loser with a different name, and one failed marriage to a closet alcoholic, before I finally ‘grew-up’ and decided I would not settle for anything less anymore. Period.  I literally sat down and made a list of all the attributes I had to have in a man.  In fact, what had happened was I learned the very long and hard way about everything I did not want in a guy  through my own personal trial-and-error. (Mostly error.)  It was only after this personal epiphany that I met my true-love.  And it didn't take long.

 

[pcottraux]

I absolutely love and adore graphics and hi-res digital pictures...

...of OTHER PEOPLE.

[rzeznikj at stout]

Don't forget the power of digital manipulation with software such as Photoshop and Illustrator...

...or if one's on a budget, The GIMP and Sodipodi are both available for free (and run on Windows). While they're not professional-grade (e.g. not for heavy-duty graphic design), they are excellent for basic (home/small business) usage.

[DollyCali]

I am not familar with those stout.

I am still learning. I have about plataued the past year in both HTML & photo work.

I do have photo shop 6 but mostly use Picture It becuse it is easy & I know it. I dont do head transplants etc (yet).. I was thinking your toboggan pix would be fun with a few of the posters here at the thread's faced changed.

can you do that?

the one gal 2nd from front looks like Max already!

[rzeznikj at stout]

Whoops, killed the thread...

[rzeznikj at stout]

What toboggan pics?

I do have random pictures that I could probably doctor (though time is at a premium...)

I might be able to get my hands on an old copy of Photoshop 5.5 for Mac and run it via emulator--then I can really take off (what I used for four years to produce various, er, art project in Graphics)

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

OH YEAH!

I'm sorry, that IS me, and hubby is right behind me. That was taken at Disneyland in 2002. There were a group of about two dozen Tibetan monks there and one of them sat in front of us on Splash Mountain.

(Can you say, FREED TIBET?!)

[snugs]

Same here in England we do not have or need it 95% of the time though this summer we have needed it. Dad and I have even given in to having a fan in the house and we do not normally do even that. At work the MD and the conference room have AC but the rest of the company has to survive on fans or opening the windows and hoping there is a breeze.

The Chemist next door has AC so it is nice to pop in there on the way home from work just to cool off for a few seconds. One becomes adapt at buying an extra bottle of milk, or packet of plasters or throat pastilles etc each day. It is easier to think of things now they also do grocery items since the convenience store nearby closed. They also do wonderful Indian food because they are of African/India decent. They stock all the ingredients to make your own Indian meals plus the old fashioned items as ground maize (cornmeal).

[snugs]

Very thoughtful comments. The only thing I would add is that IMHO and having been involved with someone romantically that is not a Christian Plan A for me is better than Plan B even if Plan A mean at nearly 46 I am still single.

What I have noticed though in the last few years there are now Christian dating agencies in Britain and although due to commitments at home at this time it is not the right thing for me maybe in the future this is something to pursue.

From what I understand there are many men and women in their 40s, 50s and 60s who belong to these agencies because especially in the Christian field circumstances have conspired that they have never married. Some have been missionaries or worked in Christian organizations where they may have the sole person in their age group and others been in churches where there were not enough people of similar interests and age to meet a life partner.

Thats my two pennyworth anyway.

The relationship I was in with a non Christian fortunately has had a good outcome though we are still friends. I do hasten to add that it was more him than me that broke it up but I do now look back and see that it was right and at the right time. I had much enjoyment from the experience and believe again that God allowed me that because of other circumstances in my life and I will always carry fond memories but realise that it was really never to have been and especially at that time.

Who knows what the future may holds as I count him as my best friend. I know there are many people who are praying for my friend conversion including someone who used to work with us both and has since immigrated to the US I think either NC or SC he used to invite Phil to prayer breakfasts/men outreach meetings etc and at one time they did have some really good chats.

[snugs]

Come on you are not too old if you really want to find someone but you have to be willing that it will change your life completely.

I know how I am at present I am not in a position to meet someone for a lifetime commitment because of caring for dad but also I have carved out my own routine and that would be hard to break.

I feel that one of the reasons my ex mentioned in a post above had problems with our relationship was because after coming out of a 19 year marriage wanted to have his own life and do what he wanted and with another fairly long term relationship with me felt he could not.

Having lived at home most of my life this was not a problem for me at the time because I had never really been fully in control/responsible for my life decisions etc so in a way I was like someone meeting someone else as you do in your late teens early 20s. Though since mum became ill and has died this obviously is different and I have carved out more of what I want to do albeit in a restricted way. So I would also be more that way now than before.

Whilst I understand what you mean by the teaching being wrong in a way it is also right because it did not mean you settled for someone who was not right and heartache you would have endured and possible divorce and emotional hurt etc both to you, your partner and any children involved.

I would suggest that maybe you look at finding a good Christian Dating agency where I am certain you will find many people of similar backgrounds and feel like you that they were either taught or interpreted wrongly teaching when they were younger and are now as you feel "on the shelf".

Do not give up though todays 40 is yesterdays 25 - 30, people are not considered old and has been in their 40s and 50s anymore.

[snugs]

Love the pontsetta (sp) table cloth I have similar though not the same one I get out a Christmas

[snugs]

You are the best example I know of someone who in later life enjoys themselves and enjoys dating.

[snugs]

Its a great photo, often if the camera and the photo is a good one a scanned image can be as good if not better than a cheap digital.

[snugs]

Lovely photo Dolly looks as if you had a great time.

[snugs]

It is sad it is always the children that suffer most often affecting how they look at and make decisions in later life over relationships.

I know that IMHO that is the way with Phil's daughters. The oldest one in a positive way she got involved when at uni with a guy about 8 - 10 years older but became part of his family (parents and 5 brothers). They think of her as daughter and sister. She never went back home stayed there and eventually married the guy. He is a sweet man who due to lack of self confidence will never pull up trees job wise and she as a school teacher will always be the major bread winner but he loves her to death and would go through fire for her and their 2 daughters.

The other daughter however is much more materialistic and wants things her way. She broke up with her long term ambitious boyfriend 2 or 3 years ago - mainly I think both of them wanted to pursue their wants dreams and would not find any common ground inbetween. Sad because in many ways they were well suited and I am certain in later life would have been a great partnership. She now has a new man in her life but she has bought her own flat (apartment) and only wants him around when she does other times it is girls night out etc. The shame is when she turns this hard exterior off she is a soft kind hearted girl but has learned to put up a barrier to stop heartache. She was a total daddies girl and missed her father like crazy when her parents marriage broke up even if she saw him every week and he phoned her every few days but of course it was not the same as having him around everyday. For work reasons also Phil lived a 35 min drive from them so she could not just pop round to see him for 10 minutes and then go home it had to be an arranged thing.

[snugs]

Photo shop crashed my computer I had to take it off also it did not like Picture it.

That was the reason I could not save photos to long file extensions and also used to bomb out of IE. Once I took first picture it but problem still there slightly and photoshop off it went away.

Any thoughts Phil why that should have happened?

[Two Thirds Vote Aye]

Hi D.C.! Thanks for the ping! This is just what I need!

[DollyCali]

Morning Everyone!!!!

2/3 Just what you need? Are you ready to take the BIG step & just wanting to find the right person?

Well, whatever the case it is nice to have your here wiht us. We have a nice group of folks who come & go depending on their schedule.

I need to find & touch base with Rock in Right & Hoodlum91

supposed to meet them in an hour or so at Rock in Roll Hall of Fame

[DollyCali]

Thanks Snugs. I believe that age is no plus or negative deterrent to socialization. It is one's attitude inside your deep recesses of psyche!

If one is naturally comfortable mingling it will be the case at 30 or at 50 or at 70...and whether you are married or single.

FReeper Wheelbarrow is over 80 & single twice due to cancer deaths in his wives. HE is very social, dates several women, is active with some clubs as active contributor & does outdoor hikes, singles' dances a few times a week (and would put most of the folks here to shame on the dance floor)and in general has a young positive outlook.

I have a lot of social friends..men & women. John from last night has been a friend for 14 years. One of the first men I met when I came back to Ohio.. and at a singles canoing outing! We are not romantic daters but social/friendship daters..We have helped each other through some difficult times in each of our lives.

sorry about the software incompatibility of the photo programs. My brother has had that problem also & had to remove various programs that didn't like each other for one reason or another

[RockinRight]

The "Hillary is God" channel?

[ohioWfan]

Hey, all.......I'm here and will be in and out most of the day.

Glad to be a part of this very cool thread. :)