Obligation

I keep going back and forth on the virtues of relationships. Monogomy keeps us grounded and helps us grow as we overcome adversity together. But it also makes us painfully unhappy. My married friends complain that they hate feeling obligated to make their partners happy, to have to do things for them, to get shit for forgetting about their anniversary, and to always worry about how their actions will affect their partner's feelings. They're tired of living "the dream".

This is precisely why I dislike asking my partner to do anything for me. If he doesn't want to do it of his own free will, than I am nothing more than a ball and chain. I don't ever want to be any body's fucking ball and chain. I hear this on a regular basis from my partner -- you're the one that wanted kids, not me. Fuck you! What a cop out. I feel like I'm the one that pressured him into this marriage and am holding a gun to his head to stay. GO! PLEASE, JUST LEAVE. Be free. Stop making me feel like a prison warden.

The thing about unconditional love is that you want to do your best by the other person. It makes you happy to do things for them. You have a genuine concern for their feelings. It hurts to see them hurt. You remember your anniversary because it was one of the happiest days of your life. This is the real thing. Or is it just a woman talking from her own female perspective?

Relationships, who needs 'em! Grrr