In this question shelf-life refers to the length of time a relationship will last without deteriorating.

Do you think/feel that all relationships have an equal shelf-life? And if so should it be everlasting? Or do different relationships have differing shelf-lives?

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I think that fuck-buddy relationships generally have a short shelf life compared with romantic relationships. Probably because during that time they either deteriorate to the point where you're no longer even friends, they turn into romantic relationships or one or other partner meets someone for a romantic relationship. I think that's the way it should be.

I also believe that a lot of those very intense relationships (the type often associated with Hollywood stars) are not designed to last a long time. They burn themselves out too quickly and often cause a heck of a lot of destruction along the way. My Mother had a relationship like that and they managed to drag it out over 20 years, but after the first 2 years it was clear to me (aged about 10) that it was never going to work!

As for my relationship? I really hope that's got a never ending shelf life, but I don't take that for granted. I'm all too aware that any moment he could find himself infatuated with someone younger, prettier, slimmer and with fewer responsibilities than me. Hopefully, he worries about that too though.

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"Time flies like an arrow -
Fruit flies like a banana"

M Y - N A U G H T Y - P I C T U R E S ! !

I think that the relationships with a shelf life are those that are mismatched. My grandparents were married 62 years and in love with each other until they both passed away.

If you've ever seen "Moonstruck", you'll understand this. Guys...you have to find the woman that has your rib.

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Though I am different from you,
We were born involved in one another.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Complete surrender should not just come at moments in which one faces overwhelming odds, but in the calm when it seems one is personally in complete control of one's life.

Interesting thought Salacious.





And you have caused me to rethink if looking for that 'shelf-life' isn't our problem in the first place. We know there are no static systems for any other part of nature. Is it wanting to make a new discovery, the excitement, and the pleasure into an ever lasting state that leads to the 'deterioration' and disappointment?

It is a certainty that we will each continue to grow and evolve into different people, physically, mentally, and emotionally. On a total life scale we will often, temporally, change the mix with additional cherished people in the form of offspring. We are not surprised to find every part of our world around us to be changing in ways we had never conceived.

Should our objective be to share the experiences we expect and actually want to happen,...... together? Is it the diametric forces of wanting to freeze the prospective and thrill of a fresh relationship and the need to evolve and change that pulls us apart from one another rather then purposely morphing into a single unit that becomes part of the change?



I'm going away now. My head and heart hurts from all this.

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Perhaps what extends the shelf-life is that as we grow and evolve into different people...instead of growing apart, we want to discover who we've become.

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Though I am different from you,
We were born involved in one another.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Complete surrender should not just come at moments in which one faces overwhelming odds, but in the calm when it seems one is personally in complete control of one's life.

All I know is that a solid oak shelf will last much longer than one made from balsa wood. Finding the proper materials to build such a shelf seems to be my problem.

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It takes a gutless mouse to play only when the cat's away.

No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever. ~~ Francois Mocuriac

Confucius say, "He who masturbate into cash register come into money."

An optimist looks at the glass and says it's half full. A pessimist looks at the glass and says it's half empty. A Cubs fan looks at the glass and says, "When's it gonna spill?"

Deus Impetitio Esuritori Nullus

I don't think it's so much an issue of a "natural shelf life" as that both people need to continue to invest in the relationship to keep it from spoiling. Without consistent effort to fight the forces of entropy - changes, adversity, differing needs - all relationships are bound to go sour.

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Life is too short not to love and be loved....preferably multiple times in one night.

I think men talk to women so they can sleep with them and women sleep with men so they can talk to them. ~ Jay McInerney

My thoughts exactly, even that "entropy" word I've never heard before.
Danny

It's been said that the human body replaces itself, cell by cell, once every seven years...similarly, (not sure if I spelled that right, damn sure I can't say it right) we tend to re-invent ourselves emotionally over time...I'm definately not the same man I was at the turn of the century... certainly, people can grow apart over time, but I can prove that people can grow together as well...

A relationship is going to have a short shelf life if it's left on a shelf all the time...you have to take it down, shake it up, add fresh ingredients every so often...

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Plug me into somethin'

If the theory does not conform to the facts, then the facts must be discarded.

No good deed ever goes unpunished

Never argue with an idiot. He'll drag you down to his level, & beat you with experience.

*spews water out of my nose*

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The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable

If I wanted your opinion, I'd remove the duct tape and ask you for it.~ Me
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What Did You Do Today? Self Defense Class ~Short Sweet Snippets~ § Summer Spin § Story Challenge Submission Pajamas

I don't think I'd use the word shelf-life in relation to a relationship because to me that words conveys the meaning that it's going bad. I think relationships evolve over time, just because it's different doesn't mean that it's not as good. I guess the trouble can be when you evolve differently and grow apart, but that's not always the case.

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That is so sweet about your grandparents I also love "Moonstruck"

I think the shelf-life depends on so many factors from compatibility to maturity of self, and if the relationship grew apart or grew stronger.

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Just when the caterpiller thought the world was over, it became a butterfly!

Owning Pita, by my JassWolf!!
My Story~ Friday Night Spanking

Relationships do have a shelf-life, if you listen to the scientists. 18 months of infatuation, then the infatuation goes away. If at that time you have just surfed the wave of hormone intoxication, you'll probably fall off the shelf. If you've used the time to grow an integrated relationship, the only limitation is your lifespan.

Mostly.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

When I got married, I never imagined I would get divorced.

And yet, here we are 23 years later... I have changed, evolved, and he doesn't like it. He wants me to go back the way I was, but I can't.

I guess you either drift together or drift apart.

Of course, you also get those marriages which aren't happy, but neither is prepared to move out so it just drifts along. Rather like my parents marriage, they went through a sticky patch when we were teens, but as we left home they had to talk to each other and got on better.

The saddest thing to me, is that when Dad got cancer, it brought them closer together, which just made his loss even harder for my mum to bear.

Do you think/feel that all relationships have an equal shelf-life? And if so should it be everlasting?

I don't believe all relationships have an equal shelf-life. I also believe that in our lives we have a vast array of different relationships. I have a relationships with everyone in my immediate life, my family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and many more I am sure I am missing. I suppose for me the "ideal" relationship with regard to mate or spouse "should" be everlasting, but as all too many of us are aware that as time advances and people and circumstances change. Sometimes we grow closer together and sometimes we grow apart. The direction in which we grow or gravitate has an effect on how "everlasting" that relationship will be.

Or do different relationships have differing shelf-lives?

We change jobs and neighbors move or we move and although we may have the best intentions of remaining "close" life chugs on and things change, circumstances change, priorities change and we may drift, thus shortening the shelf-life of certain relationships. I don't feel it's necessarily a bad thing. As people come into our lives I feel they impact us whether we are aware of it or not. It's those "impacts" that change and shape who we are, how we react and the choices we make in our day to day lives.

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