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I think this is about priorities. rebelaessedai Send a noteboard - 20/04/2011 01:07:20 AM
That doesn't mean I think it's good, either - just that many couples become resigned to this kind of thing.

To me a successful relationship/marriage is about valuing the other person's happiness as much as your own. This entails doing things like holiday dinners (and never speaking condescendingly about them in public!). You also want to have a good (or at least respectful) relationship with your partner's family if they are remotely important to him/her.

I don't like the idea of lowered expectations. I saw a study recently which found that couples with an idealized view of each other on their wedding day tend to be happier five years into the marriage than those with a more cynical perspective. Your partner should be someone you enjoy more and treat better than the rest of the world - not necessarily 100% of the time, but as a general rule.

So my view is that a relationship is not "better" just because you regularly get by with acting how you'd want to act if you were single.

Of course I am engaged too and haven't been with the guy all that long (dated 15 months, friends for ten years), so maybe I have a naive view of things. We'll be flying across the country soon to spend the spring holiday in our hometown... my family lives there too, but I'll be staying with his because my relationship with my family is so complicated. To be honest, I really don't want to go, I don't want to see them (my family) right now, and I wish that his first vacation in a year were to somewhere like Hawaii instead. But it's important to him, so I'll shut up and go. :P


I mean, Nick would like me to visit his family when he goes, but it's not of the utmost importance that I do so. I probably won't go if his brother is involved because we got into it and I don't like him. Nick understands and respects that. But at the same time, he doesn't particularly like his brother either. ;)
It just depends on the people involved. I'm sad that you would rather not go and feel like you're obligated to go anyway, but maybe your relationship works better that way. To each his own.
Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position. - Bill Maher
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Relationship - positive development or signs of eventual break down? - 19/04/2011 08:48:26 AM 2178 Views
Helene, I want to give you an answer but... - 19/04/2011 08:58:45 AM 1297 Views
Fair enough - 19/04/2011 10:01:51 AM 1245 Views
inlaws are not always bad - 19/04/2011 02:10:18 PM 1225 Views
I spend way more time with my in-laws than with my own family. - 19/04/2011 02:17:41 PM 1193 Views
I'm like this with my future in-laws too. *NM* - 19/04/2011 04:47:05 PM 619 Views
I think they are right - 19/04/2011 10:20:39 AM 1414 Views
I see your point - 19/04/2011 10:42:51 AM 1395 Views
Re: I think they are right - 19/04/2011 01:59:57 PM 1266 Views
I think that's an unfair assumption. - 19/04/2011 02:16:54 PM 1175 Views
What he said about his wife's mother - 19/04/2011 02:59:32 PM 1339 Views
No offense... - 19/04/2011 02:35:53 PM 1324 Views
yes but have you found such a thing? - 19/04/2011 03:05:35 PM 1258 Views
For now I have *NM* - 19/04/2011 03:08:17 PM 639 Views
how long has it been? *NM* - 19/04/2011 03:16:32 PM 634 Views
Don't try to corrupt me with your long term pessimism - 19/04/2011 03:34:39 PM 1196 Views
sadly I seem attracted to the crazies *NM* - 19/04/2011 04:08:14 PM 604 Views
Could be either - 19/04/2011 10:30:50 AM 1310 Views
True enough... - 19/04/2011 10:44:28 AM 1284 Views
My opinion is the latter. - 19/04/2011 01:55:00 PM 1277 Views
He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 01:56:49 PM 1273 Views
Re: He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 02:07:34 PM 1231 Views
Re: He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 02:13:25 PM 1358 Views
I should have read this first. - 19/04/2011 02:25:16 PM 1290 Views
Re: He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 02:23:14 PM 1268 Views
The fact that you are referring to a fiancé and comparing it to wife says a lot - 19/04/2011 02:09:27 PM 1367 Views
To be fair, me and my fiance have been together for about as long as they have - 19/04/2011 02:57:03 PM 1186 Views
I don't know about everyone but things changed when we got married - 19/04/2011 03:16:11 PM 1263 Views
How did things change? - 19/04/2011 04:14:56 PM 1272 Views
Like I said I can only speak for myself - 19/04/2011 04:54:04 PM 1267 Views
There's already a 10 year old in the picture for us - 19/04/2011 06:52:44 PM 1243 Views
My husband and I don't understand why people say this. - 20/04/2011 01:03:31 AM 1368 Views
I did say I was only speaking for myself - 20/04/2011 01:58:45 PM 1266 Views
I know. - 20/04/2011 09:01:11 PM 1479 Views
Sorry for some reason I thought you had just got married. - 20/04/2011 09:52:24 PM 1711 Views
Good luck to them! *NM* - 22/04/2011 04:25:38 AM 609 Views
From the information that you have presented... - 19/04/2011 03:50:19 PM 1417 Views
I am in agreement with you, and I'm not particularly Christian. - 19/04/2011 04:11:57 PM 1203 Views
Could go either way. - 19/04/2011 04:36:02 PM 1208 Views
I get the impression that it's more about her forming toward him than vice versa - 19/04/2011 06:56:37 PM 1223 Views
Giving up is one thing, growing past is another. - 19/04/2011 10:00:55 PM 1195 Views
Oh, to be fair, he's the friend and she's the wife - 20/04/2011 08:43:12 AM 1128 Views
I don't necessarily think it will end in a breakup or divorce. - 19/04/2011 04:44:11 PM 1202 Views
I think this is about priorities. - 20/04/2011 01:07:20 AM 1367 Views
Our priorities may shift over time, too. We're still very young and more tied to our families. - 20/04/2011 03:09:54 AM 1197 Views
Even when younger, I was independent. - 20/04/2011 05:29:59 AM 1152 Views
*nods* - 20/04/2011 06:25:29 AM 1273 Views
- 22/04/2011 04:29:32 AM 1461 Views
Not the former for sure, and maybe not the latter. - 19/04/2011 05:55:03 PM 1269 Views
Can't tell. - 19/04/2011 10:04:27 PM 1198 Views
I'm with the 'can't tell' crowd. - 19/04/2011 11:37:17 PM 1624 Views
hell, or she could just not care too much at all - 19/04/2011 11:43:21 PM 1202 Views
I'm leaning more towards your interpretation. *NM* - 20/04/2011 02:15:22 AM 583 Views
I'm with you on this. *NM* - 20/04/2011 10:00:41 AM 643 Views
*sigh* - 20/04/2011 09:25:02 PM 1337 Views
Re: I mean, it's not good. *NM* - 20/04/2011 11:50:21 PM 569 Views

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