Sharing a Home
We had been dating for quite a while and my girlfriend and I decided to move in together. I was in my early forties at the time and had been through other relationships beforehand, but I’d only had one other long-term relationship which involved cohabiting with another person. I had been living by myself in my bachelor pad for a good four years, so I had become, shall we say, ‘quite set in my ways’.
The truth is, Natalie had been staying over more and more, so we’d been practically living together for ages before we decided to make it official. Still, when we finally formalised our living situation, things began to change almost immediately.
From one day to the next, my personal hygiene, or lack thereof, was called into question. Natalie complained about everything from the state of the bathroom after I’d use it, to the dishes not being washed immediately after finishing a meal. I must admit, her standards when it came to cleanliness brought the look of my place up a couple of notches, but I felt it came at the expense of my comfort.
Watching home renovation programmes in the evening took precedence over my penchant for watching football. I was forced to endure all manner of so-called ‘real-life’ renovation drama on different streaming services. On the odd occasion, my frustration would boil over and I’d get angry and get my way. However, as soon as the show or sportscast would begin, Natalie would be on her smartphone, sulking on the other couch. Ten minutes later, I’d feel guilty for losing my temper and we’d end up watching a show that was more to her taste.
Despite my objections to what we watched on TV, I found myself enjoying some of her shows and would even watch them when she wasn’t around; almost like a guilty pleasure. When she’d be out of the house, I also found myself getting into the habit of washing up straight after meals, rather than letting the dirty dishes fester there for extended periods of time.
Ten years have gone by since Natalie first moved into my one bedroom palace and we are still going strong. Of course we have moved out of my pad and into a spacious three bedder with all the trimmings. Two of the three bedrooms are occupied by our two little bundles of joy, Daniel and Sophia. Things couldn’t get any better. Well, perhaps they would improve a tad if I was allowed to watch my football on occasion.