Happy Valentine’s Day!

No, I hadn’t forgotten that today was Valentine’s Day.  It’s just that I’m not much of a holiday person, so I often have to push myself towards observance.

In honor of this day, I wanted to solicit your ideas about what makes a happy relationship.  I don’t think love is enough.  My sense, from observing the most happy marriages and relationships I know, is that both parties get tremendous pleasure from making the other person happy.  This is not a one sided thing, with one person being the entitled taker and the other the martyred giver.  Instead, this is a relationship in which each partner gets affirmative (not martyred) joy from the other person’s happiness.

What do you think?