bedim: let me educate you

Blog Every Day in May: Educate Your Readers On Something You Know A Lot About.

This one is tough for me because I don't really consider myself an expert on anything. Unlike Burns, I don't really get hooked on specific subjects for very long (he could talk to you for hours about Tetris, space, physics, etc.). I guess one of the topics I'm most knowledgeable about is my relationship with Burns. This post shall be called:

How to stay in a relationship with someone you're not married/engaged to for 4 years - tips and tricks.

1. Talk isn't cheap. In fact, talking takes up a lot of precious time. Make sure you take time out of your busy schedules to sit down and talk to each other about anything and everything. If you must, calling is a fantastic means of communication. Texting isn't the greatest medium but it's better than nothing.
   
2. Feelings matter. No matter how dumb you might think it is that Bob doesn't like it when you call him "sweetie pie", you need to take his feelings into account and maybe break that old habit of calling all of your past boyfriends that same name.
   
3. Sometimes the problem isn't the problem. I can't even count how many times I've been upset about something very insignificant and blown it way out of proportion. When situation like these arise I go back to Tip #1 and talk it out. Almost every time we were able to talk (and talk and talk and talk) about it and get down to the nitty gritty of what was actually bothering me. 
4. Keep learning. It's a well known fact that a lot of people divorce because they are "not the same people they once were". I feel like these people suddenly realize this and it's a big shocker that they have both changed. Everyone changes. Even though Burns and I aren't married yet, we've had a lot of time to become different people over the years. We tackle this obstacle by asking each other questions we would ask on a first date and, therefore, get to know each other all over again. Questions like "What's your favourite colour?", "What's your favourite band?" and "What colour is your toothbrush?" can spark great conversation while getting to know your significant other all over again. 
   
5. Laugh it off. This one took me quite a while to learn how to do and I still struggle with it, but I think this is very valuable advice. Any time I get really mad at or annoyed with Burns, I try to lighten the mood by thinking of the situation from an outsider's perspective. With many incidents I have been able to step outside of my storm cloud and see one really crazy girlfriend getting upset over her boyfriend kissing her face while she's trying to sleep, or her freaking out because he was rubbing her lips with a snap pea while she slumbering peacefully (this girl doesn't take her precious sleep time lightly). Eventually I just had to laugh. 
6. Be yourself. I am a very strange person and it took me quite a while for me to let Burns to see my true colours. We have so much more fun because I finally let my hesitant wall crumble to little pieces. 
   
7. Date. Seriously though, never stop doing things together. Find something(s) you have in common and run with it. Plus, if you're going to follow Tip #4, you might find out that so-and-so likes something that you've never tried. Guess what, if you go on a date with them and try it out, you just might have found a new "something in common". Which leads me to my last tip.
   
8. Try [almost] everything once. I put the "almost" in there in case your significant other wants you to try holding your breath for more than 4 minutes or something like that. Probably not a good idea. BUT if you try out a not so dangerous idea, you just might like it or at least you might be able to tolerate it when you used to despise it.

All of these tips are great, but if you really just want to date for 4 years be prepared to take a lot of questions and ridicule for not being engaged/married. Just remember Tip #5 and you'll be fine.