We have all been there at that inexplicable moment when it feels like the love starts to sink… The relationship that is going so well until a misstep, a misspoken word, a flash of thoughtlessness, a moment of awkward incompatibility in the bedroom or at a dinner conversation intrudes. That sudden moment that stabs a blow into the boat mid-way through the love canal, and you come out the other end in a swamp of misunderstandings and difficulties.

So how do we handle the inevitable rocky waves? Let go! Laugh! If someone gets cranky, give them space and accept that it’s human and that IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. You WILL disappoint one another. The first glowing two months have some kind of buffer against stupidity, but it cannot last–human error will encroach. No one looks forward to the moment it hits, but to cringe and look away will only make the impact worse. Be open, allow it. Even welcome mistakes and changes. If it starts to get rocky, don’t whine and moan and seize up in dismal expectations of “it’s the beginning of the end.” This is the human experience, and like Marilyn Monroe said, “If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”