Relationships Archives

Relationships take a lot of work. Dating, online dating, and courtship all have one goal, to give us a Relationship to thrive in. It is hard to find a healthy, attractive, and willing partner. When you do, what happens next is the most important part. I work on relationship-building as a skill set. How can I be a better partner? How can I say with this person for life?

Guidance and Direction Request from John of The Whole Parent

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 17, 2018
Post category:Co-Parenting Dating Depression Divorce Joy Love Married Life Money Parenting Relationships Self-care Sex Single-Dad Spirituality

Hi, and thanks for being a reader of The Whole Parent. A lot has changed since I started this blog over 5-years ago. My life has been through so many…

Erectile Misfire Might Be More About the Sex Than the Dysfunction

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 16, 2018
Post category:Dating Health and Fitness Relationships self-awareness Self-care Sex Single-Dad

Sex is all in the mind. If your mind is elsewhere, I'd rather let you go do whatever it is that is distracting you from being enthusiastically present with me. The several times I wondered about my own sexual potency, I realized it was much more about my heart and my intention in making love in the first place.

When I Stopped Believing – And Started Growing Up

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 15, 2018
Post category:Anger Depression Divorce humans of divorce Parenting Relationships Self-care Spirituality

The afternoon we told the kids, together, was one of the saddest moments in my life. But it was sad for my little boy, for the death of THAT dream. I had some hope that MY kids would be okay. I knew that I was not going to turn into an alcoholic or rage-filled bastard.

Serenity with my Ex-wife Begins and Ends with Me

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 8, 2018
Post category:burn Co-Parenting Depression Divorce humans of divorce Money Parenting Relationships self-awareness Self-care Single-Dad

I may not reach serenity with my ex-wife and her new husband ever. That's okay. The serenity is within me. I am doing, have done, and will do the best I can to support my kids and keep my relationship to them above the fray my ex continues to keep seething around us.

What Dads Lose In Divorce – Divorce is a Bitch

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 8, 2018
Post category:Depression Divorce humans of divorce Relationships Self-care Single-Dad

I took the idea of a collaborative divorce to heart. But in the end there was no collaboration. I lost all my issues. All that "collaborative" meant was that I wasn't going to sue my soon-to-be-ex during the negotiations of our divorce.

Sex, Love, and Relationships: Dating Is A Bit Like Space Travel

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 7, 2018
Post category:Dating Depression Love Relationships Self-care Sex Single-Dad

So as I speed away from another "potential" I am trying to be aware of the great things I learned. And most of all, I hope to make use of the momentum her gravity and ultimate slingshot has provided for the path ahead.

Sexy Sex and the Other Two Kinds of Romantic Relationships

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 7, 2018
Post category:Dating Divorce Health and Fitness Married Life Relationships Self-care Sex Single-Dad

Long-term monogamy takes work. It takes a willingness in both partners to work on keeping things open, honest, and a bit spicy. When one partner begins to check-out or begins denying the flow between you, there is very little a solo-enthusiast can do to reconnect the lust. Perhaps it is like a faucet. At some point, she was turned off by me.

The Divorce Part You’ll Never Understand: Living Within the Compromise

Post author:John McElhenney
Post published:July 7, 2018
Post category:burn Co-Parenting Divorce Joy Parenting Relationships Self-care Single-Dad

So while I unload and vent on this site from time to time, know that my intentions towards my kids are pure and my relationship between myself and my ex-wife may be in the "it's complicated" setting for now, but we're working on it.