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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 2274 Views
Helene, I want to give you an answer but... - 19/04/2011 08:58:45 AM 1384 Views
Fair enough - 19/04/2011 10:01:51 AM 1342 Views
inlaws are not always bad - 19/04/2011 02:10:18 PM 1318 Views
I spend way more time with my in-laws than with my own family. - 19/04/2011 02:17:41 PM 1294 Views
I'm like this with my future in-laws too. *NM* - 19/04/2011 04:47:05 PM 668 Views
I think they are right - 19/04/2011 10:20:39 AM 1510 Views
I see your point - 19/04/2011 10:42:51 AM 1488 Views
Re: I think they are right - 19/04/2011 01:59:57 PM 1406 Views
I think that's an unfair assumption. - 19/04/2011 02:16:54 PM 1277 Views
What he said about his wife's mother - 19/04/2011 02:59:32 PM 1427 Views
No offense... - 19/04/2011 02:35:53 PM 1422 Views
yes but have you found such a thing? - 19/04/2011 03:05:35 PM 1354 Views
For now I have *NM* - 19/04/2011 03:08:17 PM 691 Views
how long has it been? *NM* - 19/04/2011 03:16:32 PM 689 Views
Don't try to corrupt me with your long term pessimism - 19/04/2011 03:34:39 PM 1280 Views
sadly I seem attracted to the crazies *NM* - 19/04/2011 04:08:14 PM 652 Views
Could be either - 19/04/2011 10:30:50 AM 1409 Views
True enough... - 19/04/2011 10:44:28 AM 1369 Views
My opinion is the latter. - 19/04/2011 01:55:00 PM 1395 Views
He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 01:56:49 PM 1378 Views
Re: He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 02:07:34 PM 1328 Views
Re: He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 02:13:25 PM 1459 Views
I should have read this first. - 19/04/2011 02:25:16 PM 1385 Views
Re: He definitely has a point about realistic expectations - 19/04/2011 02:23:14 PM 1389 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 1486 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 1290 Views
I don't know about everyone but things changed when we got married - 19/04/2011 03:16:11 PM 1355 Views
How did things change? - 19/04/2011 04:14:56 PM 1407 Views
Like I said I can only speak for myself - 19/04/2011 04:54:04 PM 1366 Views
There's already a 10 year old in the picture for us - 19/04/2011 06:52:44 PM 1355 Views
My husband and I don't understand why people say this. - 20/04/2011 01:03:31 AM 1485 Views
I did say I was only speaking for myself - 20/04/2011 01:58:45 PM 1398 Views
I know. - 20/04/2011 09:01:11 PM 1601 Views
Sorry for some reason I thought you had just got married. - 20/04/2011 09:52:24 PM 1815 Views
Good luck to them! *NM* - 22/04/2011 04:25:38 AM 679 Views
From the information that you have presented... - 19/04/2011 03:50:19 PM 1506 Views
I am in agreement with you, and I'm not particularly Christian. - 19/04/2011 04:11:57 PM 1299 Views
Could go either way. - 19/04/2011 04:36:02 PM 1309 Views
I get the impression that it's more about her forming toward him than vice versa - 19/04/2011 06:56:37 PM 1328 Views
Giving up is one thing, growing past is another. - 19/04/2011 10:00:55 PM 1286 Views
Oh, to be fair, he's the friend and she's the wife - 20/04/2011 08:43:12 AM 1228 Views
I don't necessarily think it will end in a breakup or divorce. - 19/04/2011 04:44:11 PM 1299 Views
I think this is about priorities. - 20/04/2011 01:07:20 AM 1482 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 1294 Views
Even when younger, I was independent. - 20/04/2011 05:29:59 AM 1247 Views
*nods* - 20/04/2011 06:25:29 AM 1371 Views
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Not the former for sure, and maybe not the latter. - 19/04/2011 05:55:03 PM 1359 Views
Can't tell. - 19/04/2011 10:04:27 PM 1306 Views
I'm with the 'can't tell' crowd. - 19/04/2011 11:37:17 PM 1715 Views
hell, or she could just not care too much at all - 19/04/2011 11:43:21 PM 1303 Views
I'm leaning more towards your interpretation. *NM* - 20/04/2011 02:15:22 AM 638 Views
I'm with you on this. *NM* - 20/04/2011 10:00:41 AM 716 Views
*sigh* - 20/04/2011 09:25:02 PM 1426 Views
Re: I mean, it's not good. *NM* - 20/04/2011 11:50:21 PM 621 Views

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