The Recipe for Love

Tonight in my Communications class, we discussed the stages of relationships from initiation to decline.  At the end of class, our teacher proceeded to dole out our assignments.  As usual, we were given two or three assignments to be completed by next Wednesday, but this time, one in particular caught my attention.  Our professor asked us to write two recipes: one for during the intensification/stable stage of a relationship and one for the decline stage.  This got me thinking.  Now she really wants us to write a recipe for actual food, but I got to thinking about what it takes to make a relationship work and what makes a great relationship. 

I know some of you may be thinking, "Marissa, you've only been married six months," but I have a wonderful husband and I think we complement each other well.  As I was mulling this assignment over, I started thinking about how lucky I am to have the husband I have.  I mean, he is kind, caring, sweet, quirky, funny, smart, and my best friend.  What more could you ask for?  We both have our faults and neither one is perfect, but I couldn't live without him.  He is making my dreams come true by working sometimes four jobs so that I can work extremely part-time and go to school.  Never does he complain or hold it against me that he is doing all the work and he still manages to pitch in around the house and find ways to make me feel special. 

Right now, we are battling our way through working all the time, being in school, and trying to propel our debt snowball into taking out some major debts.  We don't always see as much of each other as we would like, but we make it work.  We get the most out of every minute.  We support each other and help each other with things that sometimes seem impossible.  So if you ask me what the recipe for great love is, I would say:
a dash of attraction
a heap of intimacy
a pinch of compassion and understanding
a cup of listening skills
a palm full of quirky
and another dash of sweetness

That, my friends, is the recipe for great love.  I pray that you all know this sometime in your life and if you have great love now, cherish it, maintain it, and never let it go!