I recently found myself in a new situation, trying to get a love-life balance, so that my world is not completely engulfed by thoughts of romance, kisses, flowers and meeting up after work with Mr. Oh-so Handsome. Sure, we have our usual scenarios of how to fit a run in when you have a work assignment hanging over your head, trying to keep your 18-going-on-25 sister in line, updating Facebook or catching your favorite DJ at a club while keeping your diet in order, but finding a love-life balance (and not sounding clichéd) when you have just “fallen for the one” is difficult!
I have to be specific here- this is no summer romance or fling. Though there have been enough of those, this feels much more serious. I am not talking wedding cake and babies by any means, but I can see some potential with this guy, and after my well-intentioned friends trying to “match make” me one too many times, I am pretty happy to be in this place right now. But how to stay focused on my day-to-day life when I am head over heels in love is proving difficult, even for a strong and independent woman like me.
So how do I work this out? I immediately think to try searching the web for falling in love, but that feels a bit impersonal, so I ask my girl friends while we are having a cocktail and waiting on our tapas. Firstly, I am met with shrieks of giggles and plenty of jibes and teasing, but once everyone calms down, we get down to some sage advice from the voices of experience:
1. Friends come first – always, no exceptions.
That means keeping catch up times locked in, answering calls, being a shoulder to cry on when needed or an ally at the bar. Just as the guys have “bros before hoes”, the reverse can be said for the girls (sisters before misters?).
2. Make the most of the time you are together.
Got a free weekend? Then take a mini vacation, and that way you can have each other all to yourselves and be totally loved up with no interruptions. That means you don’t have to leave work early every day to see each other during the week, ‘cause as we all agreed, that is not always possible.
3. Share the love!
If this guy and your feelings are genuine then your girls need to meet him to make sure he is up to scratch. This not a full blown interrogation, but probably not far off it. Remember your girl friends know (and love) you the best, so they will only have your interests at heart.
And if point number three doesn’t come back favorably…remember point number one!
So with this knowledge in hand, I book in a few days away and a dinner to meet my friends. Well I tried to anyway. It is hard to multi-task and organize when you are preoccupied with what to wear to dinner that night! So I may not have it all worked out just yet, but I will enjoy this new experience while I can, and the rest can ‘balance’ itself out later!
About the author:
Another activity Sandy enjoys to keep her life-love balance is to keep her mind stimulated with ideas that educate and inform her of the ways of the world. The ideas by Jeremy Griffith are really intriguing and give her plenty of intellectual stimuli to discuss with her boyfriend – making her look very intelligent!