Mary McMahon

There is that instant, gut emotion you get when you see someone for the first time, that can be ever so telling as to where your relationship with them will take off.

The food is good and the food is free. Want a pudding cup? Go in the cabinet. Feel like Chinese food tonight? Suggest it for dinner. Need to do some shopping at Whole Foods? Too late! Mom and Dad already went there and stocked the fridge with organic coconut water. Sit back, relax, and keep your paycheck safely in your checking account where it belongs.

They are fantastic, beautiful, successful, funny, what have you. But they aren’t doing it for you. There is still that “but” that is keeping you from sealing the deal.

“Dumping” a friend can be just as bad, if not worse, than dumping a significant other.

How dare you be kind enough to give, but smart enough to recognize when it has not been reciprocated?

Another day, another month, another year goes by and you are stagnant in a relationship that you are completely unsure about.

“Lose my number” used to be a thing. Now it’s more like: lose my number, unfriend me, stop following me on Instagram and Twitter, remove me from Snapchat, delete my email address.

You have moved on, but part of them still sticks with you and you cannot explain why you care so much.

I know countless relationships that have been left at a standstill because no one had the guts to say “I want you” without asking the other person for validation.