R-E-S-P-E-C-T

In my mind, I have believed that two of the most important things in a relationship are fidelity and respect, maybe not as high on my list as love and devotion but would definitely be in my top five. I firmly believe that you cannot say that you love someone without being faithful or respectful of him.

Over the weekend, a friend of my invited me for lunch, she said that she needs to vent out her frustrations with his hubby. Being the dutiful friend, I obliged. From what I heard from all her stories, her main issue with her hubby is respect. It’s nothing major really, simple stuff that sometimes, when we get overly familiar with someone, we tend to ignore. I believe when it comes to respect, not just the grand gesture counts, actually I think with respect, the littlest of things add up to more.

Ok, I know she is a friend so I have a tendency to take her side but I just have to agree with her when she asked me if it’s too much to ask not to be ignored when she talks no matter how angry his husband is. I just feel that its common decency, when someone asks you a question, the most civilized thing to do is respond. No matter how angry you are, you simply don’t let go of your respect for the one you love.

I know that being with someone, no matter how much you love that person, is sometimes tough. When I got married, I knew that it will not be always a bed of roses. But no matter how tough it gets, both of you simply must make an effort, no matter how big of an effort it is, to not loose your love and respect, at the peak of a heated argument, for that person because in the end, when everything has calmed down, the regret of having disrespected the one you love will linger. I have a rule, when I fight with someone I love, I try to keep it clean, no matter how hard it is, I try to stick with the issue at hand and be level headed. Then again that’s just me.