It took me a while to understand what was happening. My nature is romantic, but I am practical enough to know that marriages and marriage partners aren't perfect. I'd been aware of his blemishes and limitations all along, and I had decided I could live with them, as I expected him to live with mine. I had never anticipated that I couldn't live with being put on hold. I felt like a VCR on indefinite pause.
Most machines have safety features that auto-stop.
Those that don't end up with distorted images and wrecked tapes. Relationships are dynamic. They grow and change constantly. A healthy relationship evolves from infatuation to a more mellow and long-lasting connection. Mature adults need to move through these stages.