Couples Retreat Analysis

Have you ever seen the movie Couples Retreat? It's not a terribly great movie, but then again I don't consider myself a movie critic. I love romantic comedies and consider them Oscar worthy. Or Emmy or Tony...whatever award the movies receive. Couples Retreat has some lines in it, though, that make me half laugh, half go cock-necked, squinty-eyed, hmmm.

While most blogging heathens like to discuss how perfect their marriages are, Facebook nuthouses, on the flip-side, like to announce to everyone that they married a psychopathic drunk bastard. The truth? Life. And I think romantic comedies, while almost always ending happily, contain some justified storylines about life. Couples Retreat is no different. These quotes may not be EXACT wording....Tivo not included for word verification. The purpose of the statement is in tact, however.

You don't want to look back and say you made it through your life...you want to enjoy your life.
I don't know about all of you, but there are definitely days when I feel like I've just gone through the motions only to look back and realize I never kissed my husband hello or good-bye, I didn't do anything significantly educational OR fun with my children, and the meals we had were, at best, icky. I mean, there are days when I wake up and think I've accomplished something because my underwear doesn't have a hole in it. Making it through, or enjoying???

You could be doing a lot better than "it just works for us".
Ever had a conversation with another married person, describe to them how you and your spouse handle a certain situation only to realize when you say it out loud, it sounds really, really terrible? It sounds sad. And lifeless. And loveless. And unromantic. Not all routines were meant to be glued into your life for eternity, and what might have worked as an initial solution may not be what's BEST for you anymore, just because it's WORKING.

We prefer to bond....on our own.
I do this for the house...he does that for the house. I do this for the kids...he does that for the kids. I do this over the weekend....he does that over the weekend.  But not too often do we ever say "we" did this together. As I type, I'm alone in the bedroom, winding down, and he is in the living room winding down. I think married people like to jokingly say that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" to make themselves feel better about never bonding with their partner. Admittedly, there are some couples that do bond, A LOT, and smother each other sometimes. Not a good option for me us. Dilemma.

Use it. Harness it. Hmm. Boom.
If you "went there" with the words harness and boom, that's exactly what the quote was meant for. We have to remember to harness our good feelings and 'boom boom' once in awhile. Or more than once in awhile should you find the energy.

I don't know what journey you're on, but I can't take this trip with you.
Ever watched your significant other flip off the handle in anger, or be totally chill about something they should freak out about? Either way, you are keenly aware that you don't want to feel or act or emulate them in any way.

We need to get focused and stop pointing fingers. You're a problem. A real, real problem.
Ever have a fight start AND end with these sentences? I am pretty sure I have. You might have good intentions to erase blame and find solutions, but you just aren't quite ready to holster the finger. But we all know that the finger holstered would make things better, now don't we?

If you want to play "guess your disease" or "interpret your tribal tattoo", be my guest. Have fun.
Spoken by a married man to another married man with a wandering eye. When it comes down to it, no matter how angry you are, do you want to join the ranks of the crazy, single world?