Jacq,

Love is a verb.  It takes commitment, conscientiousness, mindful action and maturity.

There are different phases/stages of love.  It is good to know that everyone goes through these phases.  Some don’t make it to the “end” where true, lasting and mature love is practiced.

Basically you go through the “honeymoon, stars-in-your-eyes” phase, then committing as a couple phase,  then the … from an online article … there is the falling out of romantic love, disillusionment phase where  …

“Everyone goes through this stage, even the most adoring, passionate couples you know. In a culture that focuses almost solely on romantic love, it can be very alarming when you realize the rush is gone, the passion has vanished, and your spouse no longer makes your pulse race.

Think of this time as a chance to see your partner for what he really is and decide if you made the right choice.

“Nature made (this phase) for a reason: when you lose the chemicals that give you the euphoria, you start to see reality,” Nour said. “This is a re-evaluation phase. If you feel that, overall, you made a pretty good choice… hang in there.”

People who chase romance and divorce the moment they fall out of love will never experience true love, he said. But if you truly realize you made a mistake, this may be the time to break up and start all over with a new partner. If you don’t fall out of love, you can’t fall in love with somebody else because the human brain is programmed to love one person at a time.”

Mark