Signs He’s Taking You for Granted

One of the biggest enemies of relationships is when one or both partners start taking each other for granted. This goes a long way in killing the romance as well as the love between two people. Typically, it’s pretty easy to tell when someone starts to take you for granted. However, if you’re not SURE, but you highly suspect that your partner is taking you for granted, there a few surefire telltale signs that will seal the deal for you.

• He forgets your birthday and/or anniversary: Now, it is possible that your partner was so busy at work or something else was going on that caused him to zone out and forget what day it is. That can happen once in a while but if it happens on a regular basis, he might be taking you for granted.
• He doesn’t care how he looks around you anymore: You know how guys make themselves look and even smell great in the beginning of a relationship. Well, if he stops showering regularly, or brushing his teeth, and lays around in his old, ripped up clothes when he’s just with you, that kind of shows where you fall on his list of priorities. It’s even worse if he dresses up to go out with his friends.
• He doesn’t pay attention to your appearance any more: Granted, once you’ve been together for a while, your man isn’t going to be telling you how hot you look every time you make a little change to the way you look. However, if you put on something slinky and sexy and he still can’t manage to tear himself away from the television, there’s a problem. If he’s not seeing you when you dress up for him, he’s probably taking you for granted.
• He would rather have a night out with the boys rather than one with you: Some guys just need that night out with the guys to blow off steam or whatever. But if he cancels a night out with you to spend it with his buddies at a strip club, you need to be finding out why. On top of it, if he finally finds time to shower, shave and dress up first, then you should really be suspicious. Give him his space at times, but if he’s spending more time with the guys than with you, it’s time to leave.
• If he never helps you around the house, he’s probably taking you for granted: He might have a hard job that tires him out but if he constantly feels that you’re the one that should do everything around the house, including cleaning up after him, you should question it. He may just need a maid and a whore in his life and you fit the bill. Don’t let him take you for granted like that.

Yes, relationships become comfortable and familiar the longer they last. But if he’s showing these signs, it’s time to address the situation. Keep your self-respect in place and don’t let yourself be treated like a second class citizen.

Signs that Your Guy is One to Keep

There are plenty of signs that let you know the guy you’re dating or are in a relationship with is Mr. Wrong. In fact, you may focus too much on trying to spot those signs that you totally miss the ones that let you know your guy’s a keeper. To make it easier to see those signs, check out the following:

• He puts you first: A man that’s truly committed to you and your relationship will make you a top priority in his life. He continues to show you that he loves you and is devoted to you and the relationship.
• He’s there for you when you need him: When you get in a tough spot, a man that really loves you will be there supporting you. He’ll be there to hold your hand or hold you up.
• He likes your quirkiness: The man you want to keep will love you because he treasures your abilities and overlooks your flaws. In fact, he may even love your flaws.
• He always shows you just how much he cares: The most important part of relationships is how your man treats you. He doesn’t have to send you dozens of red roses all the time. It’s more the little things like taking your car to fill it with gas for you or emailing you to wish you luck on something at work.
• He’s kind: You’ve probably always heard that actions speak louder than words, and this applies to how you’re treated in relationships, too.  If he’s respectful to his parents, polite to food servers and gentle with animals, then he’s an all-around nice guy. The best part is when he’s kind even though he thinks no one is looking.
• He’s reliable: You know you can depend on him and take him at his word. These kinds of men are pretty hard to find these days.
• He wants to marry you, too: There’s a huge problem when only one of you wants to get married. If he wants a life and family with you, you’ve got a keeper for sure.
• He can deal with your emotions: Women are just more emotional than men, for the most part. A man you want to keep will know how to deal with yours and will never call you “crazy” or tell you that you act “just like your (or his) mother.”
• He fights maturely: The way a man deals with any conflict thrown his way shows a lot about his character. A man you want to keep expresses his feelings, asks for things he wants and can handle constructive criticism without throwing a tantrum. He’s also a good listener.
• He’s a mature grown-up: There should actually be a drum roll and fireworks around this one. For whatever reason, too many men in the world today are just immature. They stalled out somewhere along the way from childhood to adulthood and are still stuck. If you’re with a man that’s competent and responsible, be sure to hang on tight to him. He may be the only one of these you meet in life.

If your man has even SOME of these qualities, you’re probably doing pretty well. Just choose the ones that are most important to you and don’t except anything less.

Sleeping Arrangements When Taking Your Boyfriend Home

When you meet a new guy and the two of you connect, it’s only a matter of time before you decide to take him home to meet your family. This can become a bit of a sticky situation if your parents are from the era where couples don’t sleep in the same bed unless they’re married and the two of you haven’t reached that particular stage in your relationship. While you may not want to be sleeping apart from your boyfriend, you’ll also want to be sure that your parents aren’t upset or outraged at you sleeping together in their home.

There are a few ways to get through this without upsetting anyone. The obvious solution is to stay in a local hotel and just spend the days and evenings with your parents. They may not approve of you sleeping together without benefit of marriage, but at least you won’t be doing it under their roof. That’s a very respectful way to handle the situation as long as you have enough money to afford a few nights in a hotel. In fact, it may even be the best idea so that you and your boyfriend aren’t under foot at your parents’ house the entire time you’re visiting them.

However, suppose your parents are the type that expects you to stay with them when you visit and they would be highly insulted if you and your boyfriend chose to stay in a hotel. Along with that, they also aren’t going to approve or allow you and your boyfriend to sleep together under their roof. Yes, there’s a lot to be said about everyone being adults, but your parents do rule the roost at their house. Of course, it’s not actually fair that you’re not only being forced to stay at your parents’ home or risk being disinherited, but on top of that, they’re refusing to let you sleep together at their house. This is a very difficult situation but if you want to keep the peace, you’ll just have to plan a shorter visit, like a weekend, and then just grin and bear it for two nights.

Then there are those parents that are more enlightened than others. These are the ones that will welcome you warmly into their home and will have only one guestroom made up for the two of you. If they know that you’re already sleeping together, they see no need to be hypocritical about things. Plus, this shows that they’re very respectful of your relationship. They take it seriously enough to treat you like the adults you are.

Whatever situation you have to deal with regarding your parents and introducing them to your boyfriend, it’s usually best to go with whatever will keep the peace. This is particularly true when there’s quite distance between where you and your boyfriend live and where your parents live. You most likely don’t see them all that often so it’s better to keep things as peaceful and happy as possible. Also, remember that if you have the enlightened parents, you’re very lucky!

Should You Go or Should You Stay? How to Know When It’s Time to Break Up

There are times in any relationship when you may start to question as to whether or not it’s time to end the relationship. Now, every time this feeling hits doesn’t mean that you really do need to break up with your partner. However, if these periods hit more often than not, it may be time to take a long honest look at just what sort of relationship you’re in and whether it’s a happy one or not.  If you’re having trouble figuring it all out, following are some danger signs that tell you it’s over:

• Abuse of any type is a definite reason to end it all. There are no circumstances that are right for you to stay with someone that abuses you physically, emotionally or sexually. There’s someone better waiting for you. But that’s something you can think about later. If your partner is harming you, LEAVE.
• Showing no respect for you, your family, your friends, your space or anything else that’s important to you is another reason to leave. Respect is one of the most vital and basic ingredients of a relationship. If you’re not getting this, it’s time to leave.
• Unenthusiastic sex may not be a huge deal but if you can’t see yourself having sex with only your partner for the rest of your life, it’s a good time to go. Sexual incompatibility isn’t something that can be fixed.
• They don’t offer you any support. It doesn’t matter if your dreams are dumb and unrealistic or not. Your partner should be supporting you in whatever matters to you. If that support isn’t there, this person isn’t worth your time.
• You just don’t feel the love. If you just don’t feel the way you should be feeling after a reasonable length of time, it’s probably not going to happen. Get out before someone gets really hurt.
• If either of you is cheating, there really isn’t a relationship to leave. People in love simply don’t cheat.
• Lying in a relationship is not something that’s good. In addition, a relationship that starts out based on lies was never one to begin with.
• When you start going in different directions rather than moving together in a few of the same ones, your relationship is pretty much doomed. You’ll have nothing in common.
• If you can’t see the relationship growing or going anywhere, don’t waste any more time. A relationship that is kind of dangling in limbo isn’t worth the time or trouble for either of you. It’s too much of an effort to make it work, and that’s not fun for anyone.
• Sometimes you end a relationship just because; no reason, just that there doesn’t seem to be any reason to keep it going. When lackadaisical feelings set in, it’s time to end it and look to greener pastures.

These are many signs that a relationship isn’t all it should be. If you’re noticing any of these in your relationship, consider whether or not they can be fixed. Reaching the conclusion that they cannot is all the reason you need to get out.   Hopefully these tips will help you figure out how to know when it’s time to break up.