If the thrill is gone from your long-term relationship, you aren’t alone. The longer we spend with someone, the less fresh and exciting being with them can feel, leading to less intimacy and excitement as the years go on. Case in point: This couple went from shaking hands 20 times a month when they first started dating to only shaking hands once or twice a month after getting married.
Yikes! Looks like this honeymoon is O-VER!
When 32-year-old caterer Julie and her husband, 28-year-old auto detailer Jeffrey, first met, it seemed like their hands barely got a break. With their fresh love in the air, Jeffrey would reach out to shake Julie’s hand the second he arrived at her apartment to pick her up for a date, again when he opened his car door for her, and even before they sat down for dinner. Julie would often offer her hand for a handshake before leaving to use the restroom and upon returning to the table. After a few drinks, the smitten couple would even shake hands a few times with their left hands, even going so far as to record videos of all of the handshaking they were doing.
Unfortunately, when the young couple finally tied the knot after three years of dating and near-constant, callus-forming handshaking, things began to change. Julie would wake up in the morning and offer her hand for a shake in bed and Jeffrey would just roll over and go back to sleep. Jeffrey would sneak into the bathroom while Julie was showering and pass his hand under the shower curtain only to have Julie respond that she was in a hurry to get ready for work and didn’t have time. They’d return to their favorite restaurants and movie theaters where they’d shaken hands hundreds of times when they were dating, but now would leave without as much as a single fist bump. And sadly, the few handshakes a month they do share now tend to be rushed and routine.
Dang. Well, guess that’s just the way it goes.
There’s always hope that there will be a spark that ignites these two lovebirds into another frenzy of handshaking, but it’s not looking likely. There’s no doubt they still love one another very much and enjoy each other’s company in other ways, but when it comes to shaking hands like total maniacs, it looks like that phase is over.
