Stages

Betul cakap mommy,
kalau nak bercinta, biar sampai dah kerja, jangan buang masa blablabla etc.

as a teenager, mesti nak tentang, mommy tak faham true love, mommy lain yaya lain, yaya bukan macam mommy...blablabla etc.

Up till this point, I UNDERSTAND.
and maybe, I'll say the same thing to my sons and daughters, and I'm gonna expect the same reply they'll give to me as what I had told my mom.

Masa skolah, all you want is a person who cares for you, dah pandai bawak kereta (itu dah kira macho sangat and dreams came true), stick with you all day and all night, hantar bunga, hantar notes, hantar candy time dalam kelas, tetibe budak budak kelab penyayang, ketuk pintu kelas, sebut nama kite, sbb dapat candy dari seseorg. :) aww so sweet!

Masa kat uni, all you want is a person who is on the right track, charismatic, good looking and could take care of you when you're away from the family. Occasionally suprises you with flowers on your special days, hantar biskut, pandai gaul dengan kawan kawan, dapat bawak jalan jalan luar uni etc.

Bila dah habis belajar, you'll realised, that's not exactly JUST what you need in a man. You don't mind he's not spending his day and night just for you. No need for non stop text messaging, even you yourself don't want that anymore. Now the reality begins, you want a person who could take care of you for the rest of your life, support you emotionally and financially, able to marry you, able to provide you a reasonably sweet wedding, have a good and stable job, a car, some investment in the making etc.

Nanti dah kahwin, lain pulak ceritanya...

Things are getting more rational and not just about your feelings.
Your expectation increase.
You will never feel you have enough.
You will feel tired. Tired of going through all the above just to get where you want to be now.
Only if you knew.
Only if you knew.

Some are lucky to have all 3 stages with the same person.
Some may not.
Some still working through it alone.
Some may be going through the stages together.
Some may be smart enough to not go through any of the above and straight to find their secured happiness.