Source: © Donna Barstow All Rights Reserved

My most recent cartoons have been How to Read His Mind, and 11 Ways to Sound Like a Better Lover.

But let's get real. What happens after the 3 month mark? (My friend claims it's 4 months when relationships start to go south.)

Annoyances happen. I wrote this cartoon after reading so many articles about relationships and how to manage them - and this complaint of how someone chews their food was almost a cliche there.

Thinking about this, as I researched articles on how to stop finding faults in others, it was interesting to note that the first 10 results were actually religious sites. Faith in the News wrote a list of 4 Ways to Avoid Fault-finding and Criticism of Others.

These are mostly along the lines of I'm Okay, You're Okay, with God's help.

No matter what someone looks like, they were created in the image of God (Gen 1:27), and so we must treat them with dignity, respect, and love.

But what about our feelings? They have to count.

Livestrong.com says, oh yes, they do. But if you constantly criticize, that's the first sign your relationship is in trouble. They quote and relationship therapist and researcher Dr. John Gottman, who says criticism is the first of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in relationships. (That's some drama, right there.)

You can be pretty sure the next 3 Horsemen mentioned in that article aren't any more positive. So even if (when) his actions really bother you, ask yourself if you want to go in that direction. Just avoid eating out together, and watch TV during meals, like normal people.

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All Rights Reserved. Content including cartoon © Donna Barstow 2017 Please contact for questions about using cartoons in other media, or sharing.

More cartoons like this in Love Me or Go to Hell: True Love Cartoons.

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