The "Perfect Relationship": Just Another Fad?

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you likely heard all the buzz about Chelsea Clinton's recent wedding.  Did she diss Obama by not sending him an invite? That the cost of the wedding was estimated at a whopping $3 to $5 million.  And, of course, that her wedding featured a vegan and gluten-free (GF) menu.  From the moment word spread about her (GF) fare, there has been somewhat of a GF craze.  Chelsea's slender figure is being said to result from her GF lifestyle and the more people hear this, the more they are jumping on the GF bandwagon.

Now, Chelsea is GF not because it's any kind of diet -- let's face it, GF just means free of gluten, not free of fat, calories, or sugar -- but because she has an allergy to gluten.  So, while people on the outside are clinging to the idea of a GF diet making them resemble Chelsea, Chelsea is simply trying to eat in a way that doesn't send her entire digestive system into a tizzy.  The folks choosing to go GF, however, are not thinking about the fact that Chelsea probably has stomach cramps or diarrhea or who knows what else if she eats gluten because that wouldn't go with their story. In their minds, she is thin because she is GF - period.  

Is the search for the "perfect relationship" as faddish as the latest GF diet? When you see a couple strolling hand-in-hand or a young family enjoying a meal at a nice restaurant, chances are you only see what you want to see. You romanticize what's before you because all you have is the limited information before your eyes at that very second. Even when you know a couple, you don't really know a couple. You don't know what they argue about behind closed doors, what insecurities they harbor, what infidelities they might be hiding. All you see is what you want to see -- that perfect facade -- because that's what you hope to have for yourself one day. 

Just like the newly GF folks who hope to one day shed those unwanted pounds and be "just like Chelsea," you hope to one day meet that "perfect" guy and be in that "perfect" relationship.  Remember that fads are a passing thing so if you want a lasting relationship, you're going to have to drop the idea of a "perfect" anything and go after a real relationship with it's ups, downs and in-betweens.