Baseball. Football. Hockey. Basketball. They all get in the way. At some point along the relationship, they all do. Ever wonder: are men and women really meant to be with one another? I’ve seen wonderful couples make it through. And I’ve seen potentially wonderful couples not even make it to the fourth week. Relationships are complicated. They require a great deal of work—from both ends.

I know of this incredible couple. They met in high school (in the 1940’s), became high school sweethearts, and stayed together since. I mean, this is an old couple. But I thought they were the sweetest happiest marriage I had ever seen—after so many years, they still addressed each other with terms of endearment like, “Babe” and “Sweetheart.” I thought that was impressive. And I remember saying that if I was ever (un)lucky enough to get married, I wanted to be just like them. It would take some serious compromise, but it would be so worth it.

Nowadays, young loves don’t want to go after that. What they’re after is that passion, that spark they felt the first time they kissed. Or made love. They don’t realize that it doesn’t work that way; that long-term relationships could only survive through hard work. Some of us work harder than others. Some of us get neglected. And we hurt inside. So we try, and we try harder. But the other is not responsive. Then, it doesn’t matter how much we try. Love is over.