We're in this together

Living with someone you love certainly has its perks, conveniences and challenges. And one of the hardest challenges is giving up most of your “you” time you used to have to now have “us” time in its place. Is that wrong for your partner to expect you to do that? Absolutely not. Living together, however, is something that should not be taken lightly. Serious commitment is involved and more often than not, you’re doing it without even realizing it.

In the majority of young and middle aged couples, spending a lot of time together is something that happens right of the bat and after a while will let up. But in some cases it doesn’t. And before you know it, you’re living with someone without even realizing it. This is not a bad surprise in most cases, as this is what we all want out of life. But different personalities can react to this in very radically different ways. There are ways to adapt to living together; you just have to know in which direction to head should you find yourself shacking up with someone. For instance – compromise is the key to everything. If you don’t have compromise, your relationship is headed for failure from the get go. If your partner or lover says they need some space and time to themselves for a few days – give it to them. If you don’t, this will have nothing but a negative on your bond. I always like to use that time to catch up with friends and go see movies I have been wanting to see. Time to yourself can be a good thing! Trust is another important necessity to have in a committed relationship. If you don’t trust the person you will end up driving yourself crazy with worry that if you’re not around them they will cheat. (Note: Some people cannot be trusted but if you feel like that’s who you’re with you have to stop and ask yourself – is it really worth it, anyway?) Trust is like a muscle in the sense that if you use it and build it up, it will become stronger and stronger as time goes one. And last but not least, laughter is just as important as breathing. I like to think of this as the oxygen that keeps the relationship alive. Having someone that can make me laugh contributes a lot to any relationship I have. Especially a romantic one. But that seems like common sense to me. After all, wouldn’t you want someone to make you smile rather than make you frown or worse – cry?

Living together is something that can be successful. You just have to take your time, get to know the other person and above all else – make sure it’s what you want and need. Just remember that the art of compromise can become compromising, but at the end of the day you and your lover/partner are in this together and another great thing about being in a relationship is that you’re not alone and you can always ask for help. So don’t be afraid to receive a shoulder to cry on as well and be one. Oh, and good luck!