Love, true love!

This was fun to learn about the specific 4 types of love. It is so true. You have to have all four for this love (true or consemmate) to work. And this love should be reserved specifically for you spouse. Have a love for people but not all four. For an eternal companion you should have friendly love, parent child type love, romantic and unconditional love. And be very careful because sometimes what you think is love, isn't. You could have intimacy but lack the passion and commitment. Likewise, you can just have commitment and lack passion and intimacy. Levels will change but it is so vital and important that we work on each one individually and make sure the other person knows (tell him or her at times), and show as well at appropriate times and situations. We must rise above what "animals" do. We are so much more than that. Choose who you love and love who you choose.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

This was yet another fun topic, especially for myself since I'm at a particular age in my life where this is important. How do each of us "pick" who we'll spend forever with? I always thought that opposites attract can work just as well as birds of a feather. I have come to learn other wise. Not saying that it wouldn't work, I know several couples that have been married 30 plus years and couldn't be more different. However, similarities seem to be a bit more easy and you're already gonna have some differences when you get married, why add on to that? I personally have taken a step back and actually think about how I portray myself and what exactly I want and what is needed in an eternal companion. The formula for intimacy was great as well and I will totally use that when I am getting to know (truly know) someone better. Three months is a great start and it is so true about patterns. Even the most reserved individuals will begin to show their "true colors" after this amount of time. I know first hand. But the more important thing here is for each of us to be the type of people we want to attract. We can't expect this really fancy dinner when we are selling cheap hamburgers. If I want great quality, I need to not only portray but we great quality myself.

A third gender?

When we talked about people that considered themselves to be gay and actually had more evidence I was quite taken back. I'm sure most if not all of us either have friends or family members that struggle with this particular situation. In some cases, someone listening and showing them that they are valued and loved can make all the difference in the world. It was also nice for me to learn that isn't even about sex, but rather feeling intimacy (and that's on all levels and aspects of a person's life). It is so important to not experiment and to stop the behavior and help them to "see" physically and spiritually that what they think leads to what they feel. And above all  and most importantly to keep in mind who God sees you as.

Too different or too alike?

That was a fun time talking about the differences (and in some cases, similarities) between the sexes. A few things I had a good idea about but some I didn't like men see in spatial (East to West) and women navigating with landmarks (a park). It is nice to know that there is beauty and power in the differences between men and women. Someone in class said "if you and I are the same, one of us isn't necessary." That is so true. Instead of fighting or trying to change or figure out why there are differences, let's embrace them and enjoy them. The best thing that can be done is to combine forces, if you will, so we can battle all things or learn so much more than we could have on our own.

Researchers say....

I personally found a lot of interest in the day we talked about the different types of research and how it is obtained and what is done with that information. I personally worked at a survey place for 2 years and I know all the different types of research and how difficult it can be to give them and to get correct information from a number of homes, including different ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, even how much one may make a year and their education level. Also, observation in natural habitats are pretty accurate in given the best information about an individual or family unit. Interviews (known and unknown) also is another good way to have people share about their lifestyles and value system. It was also fun to have a visual of how specifically Mexican families work. How one thing can change the family forever, for good or for bad.

Family Systems

Sorry! I am not the best at posting stuff! I love how in a family system, every member plays a role, and not only that but on many occasions, the roles may need to change and adapt depending on the situation. I also loved learning about the different types of boundaries that families can have. I think that is so interesting how we act around certain people and what type of boundary we tend to automatically give to each person, and when a boundary is broken we just "know it". Ideally, in a healthy relationship, we'd have permeable boundaries, but even in a spousal relationship it may be too open or not open enough. And working on the family systems project was awesome. It would be a great idea to do something like that as a family every few years I think. There are so many things you can do and what a good opportunity to grow closer as a family unit.