just like mom

Parents' relationships influence kids' dating habits, according to these earth-shattering/painfully obvious scientific findings.

Naturally, I see how certain factors within your parents' marriage -- infidelity, abuse, divorce -- can influence the way you perceive love and romance.

But I also think that in an average marriage, it can be difficult to gauge how happy your parents really are -- especially since we often tend to view our parents as authoritative figures, not real people with real emotions.

As a child, I remember viewing a certain two older people as the embodiment of everything I'd want in a marriage. Years later, after those people both died, my mom once turned to me and said something like, "I always wondered how much they really loved each other."

It shocked me that two people could perceive a relationship so differently, and I've always thought of that moment whenever I'm inclined to throw around terms like "model relationship."

Truth is, you never really know when a partnership is ideal -- even when it involves your own parents.

Thoughts?