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Bryce Gruber’s Thoughts of the Day (confusion edition)

Written by Bryce

Today’s thoughts are brought to you by Ashley and me hanging in my living room with her freshly baked cookies and doing “research” for the new line of vagina-related products that Completely Bare will be debuting this Spring.

1. Drinking Tea Only Sorta Works. For ages I’ve been the biggest supporter of the ole “drink a cup of tea to fight snack cravings” but today it’s just not working. I think I’ve gone through like 9 mugs of tea already, and still all I can think about is that plate of cookies that Ashley made. Recipe here, BTW, but this isn’t good for me considering I know I have absolutely zero intention of working out today.

2. Are Men Romantic by Nature or Only the Right Relationship? I had a long talk yesterday with someone about this and haven’t been able to get it off my mind. First, what’s more important- a man that’s generally respectful and eager to see you or a man that’s thoughtful and showers you with sweet nothings, attention, and small gifts? Or is the perfect relationship some careful hybrid of the two? In the past I’ve somehow been in relationships that have resulted in oodles of unexpected (and often under-appreciated) gifts including expensive jewelry, shoes, trips around the world, electronics, etc but I think the point is that those men were somehow tailoring their gifts towards what they knew I liked- and they were frequent. That’s the important part that men seem to miss… women like frequent, thoughtful gifts and the secret is that the gift that’s $1 is often just as meaningful and thoughtful as the one that’s $1,000. In fact, I think most women feel inherently MORE comfortable with the idea of small gifts (a small bouquet of flowers, candy, a cute scarf, etc) in the first few months of a relationship because they can trust that the man is somehow not an over-enthusiast that spills his emotions and gifts to every Sally, Sue, and Mary. If my boyfriend showed up at my door with my favorite candy bar that’d be just as worthwhile to me as a new bracelet (I don’t need a new bracelet, I do need chocolate every single day). I guess I’m sort of lost in the understanding of how men decide when and where to give these gifts- do all men instinctively give gifts when they’re in love or really want to be with a woman? Or do some men just never even think along those lines?

3. I Need a Rest. Seriously. I feel like I’ve been burning the candle at both ends the past month or so. Being a mom. Working like a bandit. Seeing friends. Making time for the boyfriend. Regular life maintenance, etc. It’s a lot sometimes, and I’m super lucky to have an awesome team with me… but I’ve definitely been burning the candle at both ends. I got the flu last week, and I suspect that it’s because I haven’t had a full night of sleep in nearly a month. Tonight’s big plan is dinner with my out-of-town cousins from LA followed by a long, glorious night of uninterrupted sleep. I will sleep a full 8 hours. It will be fantastic, and I plan to have all sorts of wildly sexual dreams just to top it off. Maybe my boyfriend will even show up at my front door with a candy bar in one of these dreams. Who knows.

image credit owni.eu

About the author

Bryce

Bryce Gruber is a Manhattanite mom who can be found jet-setting off to every corner of the globe. She loves exotic places, planes with WiFi, summer clothes, & Sucre brown butter truffles. Bryce's aim is to do to luxury what Elton John did to being gay. Follow her on twitter @brycegruber

4 Comments

  • For me, when I’m with a girl who I really care about I am just more aware of things she likes being around me. If I run to the store to get milk and I happen to see that her favorite candy is buy one get 1000 free, then she is getting 1001 of that candy. It’s nice to be able to do little things to basically say, “thank you for being awesome.”

  • Bryce–great post!
    Let me first start off by saying that I love my husband dearly. He is an incredible man—caring,kind,considerate,wonderful father and supportive but he is CLUELESS when it comes to romance. He grew up in a house full of men(no sisters or female cousins),went to an all boys school and never saw any affection or romance between his parents.He is also highly intelligent and I now know that intelligent men are less romantic They focus on logic instead of emotion. This helps to explain his behavior but it is no excuse!!! I am emotionally starved for a bit of romance and I have told my husband this on several occasions(in tears) and he still doesn’t get it. I am not expecting a Disney movie or Danielle Steele novel but like you said it is all about the little thoughtful gifts and gestures.. I am romantic with him and do things all the time to express my love and wish he would want to do the same. I guess some men either have it or they don’t. However, he WAS more romantic in a practical way when he was courting me. I have heard that you need to teach men some men to be romantic and tell them exactly what you want. Well I have tried and think I’d be better off and have more success teaching my two doberman pincher how to use the toilet.

  • Oh and I have no doubt that Ben will grow up to be a romantic. Look at all the smart wonderful women he is surrounded by. That kid will be the preschool Casanova!

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