THERE is a time for everything and in relationships, there is a season for everything.

Just like in nature, there are also different phases in relationships.

There is a summer of happiness, a spring of renewal, an autumn to shed the load and the winter of discontent when some relationships wither.

The spring of love

Spring usually signifies the start of something new. Flowers start to bloom. The weather is bright and warm as the short skirts and long legs make an appearance.

This is usually the time when men do the chasing.

A lot of relationships seem to blossom around this time.

A case in point is Tshepo Masilela, 27, and Karabo Malatji, 25.

They met when Masilela's friend hosted a braai at his house.

"My friend, who is dating Tshepo's friend, asked me to come along. He [Masilela] was there and I guess we just clicked," Malatji says.

She said she was wearing shorts and a vest as the weather was warm enough for her to show some skin.

"It was the end of September, so it was warm and I thought, 'let me get into the spring fever'," she says.

Masilela shyly admits he did find her physically attractive when he first saw her. "When I saw her legs, I was happy that this cold weather had stopped," he says with a laugh.

Not long after that initial meeting, the two started dating.

A sizzling summer fling

This season is synonymous with holiday flings. People are enjoying the festive season as they are away from work and the holiday mood has taken over.

People are either heating up relationships they began in spring or looking for that vacation hook-up that is unlikely to last longer than their new year's resolutions.

Zama Mhlongo reminisces about her summer fling.

"We met when he was visiting his cousins for the December holidays," she recalls.

The 23-year-old just had just completed her human resource management diploma and was looking forward to her last bit of fun before "having to be an adult and look for a job".

Mhlongo's summer fling with whom she hooked up at the time was in Johannesburg from Umlazi for three weeks.

"I really liked him. I thought he was really cute and he was different from the guys in my neighbourhood," the Benoni resident says.

She says things began rather quickly as he told her early on that he had to go back to KwaZulu-Natal after three weeks.

"Although I would have liked to take things slowly and explore a relationship with him, I decided that it would be better to just enjoy our time now and worry about rest afterwards," she says.

"He actually told me he had a girlfriend back home, which I was OK with because I'd accepted that nothing serious would come from our fling."

She says they have kept in contact but she doesn't see the relationship becoming any more serious.

Autumn is a time to prune

During this season trees are starting to shed. Slowly, the leaves start turning brown and falling to the ground.

At this time, people are either now very comfortable in their relationships which have survived spring and summer or those who find themselves single are enjoying their single status. Going on dates. Playing the field.

In steady relationships, this is a perfect time for introspection to get rid of any obstacles and challenges and shed them like leaves.

A death in winter

When winter comes around, the cold does something to some.

Some people suddenly reflect and no longer enjoy the single life. In fact, things are getting too desperate and they feel they need to find someone to "keep them warm".

Steady relationships experience some turbulence and this is when those who are unhappy with their partners decide to call it quits.

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