“She’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met!” His eyes shone with some combination of adoration and stupefaction. “Who exactly are you talking about?” she asked him. “My love, my angel, my savior!” He seemed to be drooling a little. “Oh brother, you’ve got it bad!” she laughed as she shook her head.
“I don’t know who you are anymore!” she was loud! It wasn’t the first time he’d heard that. It wasn’t the first time he’d said that, either. So much had changed in so little time. “Is it possible that we are the same couple that we were? What, exactly has happened here?”
You think you know someone until they slip a knife between your ribs. Suddenly, your perfect lover is looking at you like a stranger, and not in a good way. There is hatred in those eyes that held such adoration. The script has flipped and you’re not equipped.
What is the explanation for this sudden change, this Jekyll and Hyde routine? We have to start with the understanding that relationships change. I know, that isn’t necessarily good news, but it is the fact. Let’s look at the evolution of relationship and how it might change behaviors and choices:
- Identification: The honeymoon stage (isn’t it great that we both love Thai food and Anime’?)
- Differentiation: The suspicion stage (Hey, what about me and my life?)
- Assimilation: The acceptance stage (Ok, there’s an us, but I don’t know what to do about it.)
- (There might be some use for this relationship in my life.)
