Trapped in the middle on October 12, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I have been dating this girl for about a month now. She is a really pretty, nice, smart, and sweet girl. But there is a problem. I think that I might have started dating her for the wrong reasons. There is this guy that keeps bugging her and tells her that he loves her and all this junk, and she doesn’t like it. The more I think about it, the more I feel that I started dating her to protect her from this guy.

But, that’s not all. I’m the type of guy that my friends rely on to help them with their troubles. Especially being the middle man when my friends break up. You know, being the nice guy, trying to cheer them up. But this time something happened between me and the girl whom I was trying to cheer up. This is another big problem because the girl just broke up with one of my good friends.

I need some serious help.

— Flip

Dear Flip,

Whoops!
Here’s how to be a gal’s main — not Middle — man. Trust her to like you because you’re being who you are, not because you’re Helping. When the next one comes along (or, at least, when you reevaluate your current flame), assume she wants a boy, not a bodyguard (unless she’s Whitney Houston).

Love,
Breakup Girl

A new study shows the link between sex and sharing the housework. The Wall Street Journal reports:

“Earlier studies have hinted at this connection for men; the sight of a husband mopping the floor or doing dishes sparks affection in the hearts of many wives. But the more-housework-equals-more-sex link for wives, documented in a study of 6,877 married couples published online recently in the Journal of Family Issues, is a surprise.” – (via Pat’s Papers)

It’s all rather wife/gender biased, but so is life and that’s the problem, boo!

Interesting revelation: no matter what the individual attitudes about gender roles, both partners pitching in meant for a more satisfying and frequent sex life. Now that’s bipartisan!

It’s all about partnership and shared goals, coupled with (no pun intended) a work hard/play hard attitude that reinforces the team spirit, lack of selfishness, and mutual support. It reflects a willingness to respond to the needs of the other — which is tres important in the boudoir, n’est pas?

Not surprisingly these couples make sex a priority, and working on a task together — no matter how mundane — sparks relationship chemistry.