The Honeymoon Stage Was Great, But I Love You Even More Now That It’s Over

Long walks on the beach, staying up all night talking, getting lost in each other’s eyes… all that stuff was wonderful, but I’m excited for the next step of this relationship. The honeymoon stage was positively magical but now that it’s over, I love you even more. Here’s why:

  1. Things can get real. Ignorance was bliss, but I prefer truth. We’re going to fight, there’s no doubt about that, but isn’t it amazing that we still love each other anyway? It’s not going to be easy, but what IS easy in this life? Love wasn’t meant to be free — it’s damn hard work. In fact, it’s going to be quite the challenge to choose to love each other even when we’re pretty sure we hate each other, but at the end of the day, we’ll know our love is real.
  2. This is life after the fairytale. Real life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. We don’t ride off into the sunset and then the story ends. The tale keeps going, and this is the part they don’t tell you — love isn’t always enough. It doesn’t just automatically make everything okay; we have to work to make it happily ever after. The easy thing to do would be to move on every time things get tough, but loving each other through thick and thin? That’s hard, but we’re worth it.
  3. I know you take this relationship seriously. You’re resisting the urge to run for a reason. Everyone gets nervous when it comes to commitment, even women, but we’re both choosing to stay. While every guy that came before you and every girl that came before me left, we never ran out on each other. We’re taking the next step in our relationship, and no matter how hard it’s going to be, I’m so ready.
  4. It’s the end of the beginning. It’s not the end of us, though. We’re closing one chapter and beginning another. We’ve lived through uninterrupted bliss, but now it’s time to see if we can make it in the real world. Things aren’t going to be perfect, but I know that no matter what, you’ll stick by my side. We’re leaving the honeymoon stage behind and now it’s time to prove we love each other in a life full of imperfection.
  5. We’re building a real future. From here on out, it’s you and me. When the world turns against me, I know I’ll still have you by my side. We’re a team and no matter what we’re going to stick together. We were gathering all the building materials during our honeymoon stage, but now we’re laying down the foundation. We’re building a future together and I’m so happy I get to spend the rest of my days (good and bad) with you.
  6. I know I’ll never get bored. The honeymoon stage might be fun, but it’s not exactly interesting — it was great being on cloud nine, but I’m ready for a little variation. Real relationships have ups and downs. It’s a roller coaster and that’s what keeps it exciting. Life is unpredictable, and we’re rolling (or sometimes fighting) with every punch. We don’t need things to be perfect for us to be happy, because no matter what happens, I’m confident that you’re the perfect man for me, and you always will be.
  7. Now we can fully be ourselves. Not that I was being fake before, but obviously we were just getting to know each other. Now you see the real me. I’m not always going to be happy, but I know you’ll be by my side either way. You’ll love me as much at my worst as you do at my best. You’ll find me beautiful with makeup on or off. You’ll learn my flaws and then you’ll learn to love me because or rather than in spite of them. Screw the honeymoon — this is real love. Now THAT’S romantic.
Kelsey Dykstra is a freelance writer based in Huntington Beach, CA. She has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Grand Valley State University and been writing professionally since graduating in 2013. In addition to writing about love and relationships for Bolde and lifestyle topics for Love to Know, she also writes about payment security and small business solutions for PaymentCloud.

Originally from Michigan, this warm weather seeker relocated to the OC just last summer. Kelsey enjoys writing her own fictional pieces, reading a variety of young adult novels, binging on Netflix, and of course soaking up the sun.

You can find more about Kelsey on her LinkedIn profile or on Twitter @dykstrakelsey.
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