Happy New Year

Hi All,

and Happy New Year. 2008, can you believe it?

Sometimes New Year's Eve gets me a little frustrated because of the custom to find somebody to lock lips at midnight. (Plans! One should have plans! They must involve champagne! and carefully timed kissing!). I ended up having a lovely (but kiss-free) New Year's with some friends of mine. We didn't even have any alcohol.

This got me thinking about what we want versus what we need when it comes to the opposite sex.

A friend I visited over the holidays told me she thought I would never be truly happy until I had real romantic love in my life. I honestly couldn't decide if she was right or not. I am fiercely independent at times, but I do also want a great relationship with someone. Sure I want it, but do I need it? To what extent are we dependent on other people for our happiness/ contentment? What do I actually need in relationships and what do I only think I need?

At Christmas, I try to give a few thoughtful gifts that are not excessive or wasteful. I should probably bring that mindfulness to my relationships too. It's easy to tell you what I want in a relationship, but much much harder to say what I actually need to feel loved, happy, and content.

For me,the though of being dependent on someone else for my happiness rubs me the wrong way, until I think that maybe someone could also be dependent on me right back. Is it alright to bolster each other up or must everyone be firmly planted on their own two feet. When does dependent become co-dependent? Surely there's a middle ground between wimpering sidekick and uber power woman.

What do you think? Does any woman need a man?


Heidi