I have been married for nearly 18 years now and I can safely say that I have no idea what true love is. I have failed miserably at every relationship I have been in, except for this one, and even this one has included many moments of epic fail on my part.

I do know that true love isn't for wimps and it isn't for people who want to feel warm and fuzzy all the time. That being said, it isn't all bad either or "compromising to the point were no one is really happy". At least it shouldn't be. It does takes work. For both people. Each person brings their own expectations and their own baggage into a relationship. Life can throw crushing blows at both people. The honeymoon stage does fade. The ones who make it are the ones who can figure out how to endure and navigate through the stage 4 through 7's and get back to some of that honeymoon atmosphere sometimes. Any long term relationship goes through cycles but people who are in it for the long run don't give up during the lonely, boring, fighting or merely tolerating stages. They stick with it, even if a bad stage lasts for years, in the hope that love will change and grow and because they are committed and know that there are benefits to a life together with someone who knows you so intimately.

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We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.