Signs He’s Taking You for Granted

One of the biggest enemies of relationships is when one or both partners start taking each other for granted. This goes a long way in killing the romance as well as the love between two people. Typically, it’s pretty easy to tell when someone starts to take you for granted. However, if you’re not SURE, but you highly suspect that your partner is taking you for granted, there a few surefire telltale signs that will seal the deal for you.

• He forgets your birthday and/or anniversary: Now, it is possible that your partner was so busy at work or something else was going on that caused him to zone out and forget what day it is. That can happen once in a while but if it happens on a regular basis, he might be taking you for granted.
• He doesn’t care how he looks around you anymore: You know how guys make themselves look and even smell great in the beginning of a relationship. Well, if he stops showering regularly, or brushing his teeth, and lays around in his old, ripped up clothes when he’s just with you, that kind of shows where you fall on his list of priorities. It’s even worse if he dresses up to go out with his friends.
• He doesn’t pay attention to your appearance any more: Granted, once you’ve been together for a while, your man isn’t going to be telling you how hot you look every time you make a little change to the way you look. However, if you put on something slinky and sexy and he still can’t manage to tear himself away from the television, there’s a problem. If he’s not seeing you when you dress up for him, he’s probably taking you for granted.
• He would rather have a night out with the boys rather than one with you: Some guys just need that night out with the guys to blow off steam or whatever. But if he cancels a night out with you to spend it with his buddies at a strip club, you need to be finding out why. On top of it, if he finally finds time to shower, shave and dress up first, then you should really be suspicious. Give him his space at times, but if he’s spending more time with the guys than with you, it’s time to leave.
• If he never helps you around the house, he’s probably taking you for granted: He might have a hard job that tires him out but if he constantly feels that you’re the one that should do everything around the house, including cleaning up after him, you should question it. He may just need a maid and a whore in his life and you fit the bill. Don’t let him take you for granted like that.

Yes, relationships become comfortable and familiar the longer they last. But if he’s showing these signs, it’s time to address the situation. Keep your self-respect in place and don’t let yourself be treated like a second class citizen.

The Age-Old Question Of When To Call

Sometimes a first date goes so well that you know there and then that you want to have a second date. The date is duly arranged for a week or so in the future, and one of you – we’ll say for the sake of this example that it is you – promises to call the other at some point in between the dates. This could be to firm up details, to chat with one another or for any number of other reasons. The age in which we live dictates that we must leave a certain amount of time before calling. But how soon is too soon, and how long is too long?

It is received wisdom that anything less than 24 hours comes across as being “too keen”. If the previous date went spectacularly well, however, this rule can be waived in most cases. It simply makes sense to take advantage of the positive impression you will have of one another in the wake of a successful date. Otherwise, it is permissible to have a single day in between – if your date was on the Thursday, you can mandate Friday for a night of DVDs with a friend, then call on the Saturday. Leaving it any longer may be seen as stringing someone along – which should be avoided.

The above rules are, of course, not binding, and you can make your own decisions depending on the situation. However, it should always be remembered that after the first date, “playing hard to get” becomes less endearing and more like a method of torture.