Grab life by its lapels and go!

Hollywood and any other wood in between has a way of spinning tales about romance and what you’re supposed to do. Fed on a constant diet of TV, magazines and perfection, it’s impossible not to have it ingrained in our brains.

 If they’re not making us feel terrible about how we look and getting us to try the latest fads, then they’re constantly prescribing a dose of ultimate love and soul mates.

I believe in love and romance, but there’s a certain amount of crap we should be willing to take and digest. They love to leave out the difficult parts, and when they fit them into the movies, then there’s almost always a happy ending.

Love doesn’t always triumph. There’s a lot more in the days when you’re between love and segments of your life. You don’t have to be sitting in the dumps every day waiting for the glossy days.

 One thing’s for sure — your days won’t turn magical all by themselves. You’ve got to get up and change. You know what they say about change — you’re the only one who can make it happen.

In the meantime, in between time, what’s a girl to do? While ice cream, wine and cats might be your regular fix for bad days, you’ve got to get out and experience the world. The one thing about being single is the freedom to do what you wish, when you wish.

You don’t have to synchronise calendars, check schedules and find activities that your better half likes but you don’t necessarily care about. You have you and not much of anyone else to think about. Don’t you just love it?

Being in relationships can be addictive — and you can suffer from the empty-bed syndrome. You can’t live life unless there’s a man (or woman) next to you. Don’t make your partner your crutch.

They should be your partner, walking each step of the way with you, but without being handcuffed next to you. Get your own life, and wait to see what happens.

It might seem dreary on this side of the fence, but you never know what you’re missing till you’ve tried it. To paraphrase Mae West, or was it Maya Angelou — grab life by its lapels and tell it, let’s go! You’ve got your whole life ahead to live — live it to the full. Not in between, in the meantime.