Matthew McConaughey’s Christmas Miracle; an object lesson in supporting  friends who date slackers.

Presumably, you have heard that favorite Hollywood player, Matthew McConaughey is ending 2011 with a flourish; proposing marriage to the mother of his children, his patient, beautiful girlfriend of many years, Camila Alves. It’s a fair bet that while they are all thrilled, some of her friends are dumbfounded.

We all have that friend, who’s with that guy.  The the one we talk about in hushed tones, shaking our heads. Bemoaning that he’s not smart enough, funny enough, tall enough for her. That he’s moving too slow, that he’s never going to grow up, and basically that she needs to move along, there’s nothing date here, let alone marry.   Here’s the thing to remember, when the gang is strategizing your galpal’s exit strategy: Is she happy? If the answer is yes, no matter how you qualify it, you have to let go.  You love her, and she feels loved, so she’s right on this one. To paraphrase the Bard, there are more good boyfriends/husbands than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Slackers can grow up, put on their shirts, and put down their bongos. And we should support the women we love who love them. Congratulations Camila and Matthew.

-Dinah

Camila Alves & Matthew McConaughey
Image via Wikipedia
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No Place Like Home For The Holidays. Can I get an amen?

No, the holidays sure do take things up a notch at home. Something about coming home to be merry and bright is exhausting. And when we’re tired, the universal family nonsense ( or as we say in yiddish, mishegas) gets amplified, and suddenly it’s an episode of Days of Our Lives, without the funny window washer guy and the evil twin cheerleaders. Holidays are just the worst for family drama.

Unfortunately, for families with daytime Emmy hopes, weddings can be worse. If you are engaged, and expecting a volatile Week coming up take advantage of it. Pull aside the worst offenders, and point out how their behavior upsets you. Try to use “I” statements, and do not be accusatory. Then add “I really hope not to experience that on my wedding day.” Hopefully something will click, and your wedding will be more silver screen, and less soap opera.

Happy Holidays!

Dinah

Millionaire Matchmaking, Bachelorettes, and those crazy housewives

Reality TV is a fact of life these days. Finding your Mr. Or Ms. Right on national television? I’m pretty sure that’s official country song wrong place number 23 to look for love. There are, however, things to be learned from the seekers of everlasting happiness and romance in prime time.

Patty Stanger, “The Millionaire Matchmaker” on Bravo, spends an hour a week matching up difficult personalities. The editing surely makes things a) more amusing and b) less frustrating than they appear in the tiny mirror on the side of our guilty-pleasure-mobiles. But Patty does have some valuable things to say (and some funny ones to be sure).

The most important advice I’ve heard her give is “make love a priority and love will come.” the same needs to be true after love has been found. When planning your wedding, love still has to be the priority so that it will know how to stick around.

The Bachelorette is incomprehensible to me, personally. It’s some perverse version of sorority rush with all the catty parts and none of the redeeming sisterhood. If you can learn anything from this one, it’s be careful what you wish for. And for goodness sake, don’t wish to be locked up in a house full of weepy overly made up, emotionally underdeveloped girls.

Last but not least we have the Unsinkable Kim Wozniak, of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She found her latest football player love at a charity event she was attending to support another housewife’s penchant for dancing badly in public. And now she’s (on the show) about to pop with a new baby boy. Now that’s one way to make love stick around

The reality tv trend has got to hit a wall at some point. Let’s keep the super glam wedding shows and dispense with the drama. Is anybody with me?

Where’s my remote?

-Dinah