I haven’t updated my blog in absolutely forever. So here it is :] It may be a bit of a ramble…

My SO and I have been living together in an apartment my parents own (but can’t currently rent out anyway so it’s free!) for about a month and a half now. It has been an eye-opening experience! I mean I knew it would be difficult because I’m a neat freak and he’s a slob (well, in my eyes) but man I didn’t realize how much adjusting it would take to go from living on my own to living with him. It took us about a month (and one big fight) to really get into a good routine and divvy up chores appropriately. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world though. I love waking up next to him. The best part of my day is when he walks through the door after a night shift, even though he smells like burgers and is covered in sweat (gotta love dating a cook haha). We’re both really happy, especially now that we have fallen into a good routine for the housework and such.

I’m really glad that we decided to live with each other before getting engaged/married, which is funny since I used to think it was wrong. I don’t know if I could deal with the stress of being newly engaged/married and moving together for the first time…. I mean I’m sure we could survive it but it would be even harder. Thank you to everyone on here who opened my eyes to the benefits of living together before marriage and encouraged me to take this opportunity! It’s been some of the best weeks of my life, even with the occasional fight about him not doing the dishes properly :P

My mom is the one who really wanted us to live together. His family that he used to live with (mom, stepdad, brother) steals money from him and such so she wanted him to get out of that environment. My dad didn’t know about it at first (I mean he had a clue but no one outright stated it) but now knows. I thought my dad would hate it but it turns out my dad is fine with it as long as my SO contributes to the household by mowing the lawn and babysitting my handicapped brother. He just doesn’t want to feel like he’s supporting another child. I’m really happy that my father is being supportive. He’s even helping my SO look for a new car! :]

His dad and stepmom are also totally fine with it. My SO and I broke up last summer and got back together and I was unsure if they liked me after that. It turns out they are totally fine with me. They still invite me to family outings and such, although not that many because they live about an hour and a half away. I’d like to move closer to them in the future.

His mom, stepdad, and that whole side of the family really are another story. They think it’s morally wrong that we are living together. They think my SO and I are living in sin (which we are but we were having sex anyway so I don’t really see the difference….) and his stepdad and two uncles are very vocal about that opinion. They have stopped inviting us to family events, claiming they “forgot”. My SO and I are understandably very upset about it. But we’re adults and made the decision that was right for us. My SO and I are doing what’s best for our relationship and trying to build a strong relationship before getting married (sidenote – I don’t think everyone needs to live together before marriage but this works for us). They need to learn to respect that or at least to tolerate it.

But anyway, I just wanted to update everyone on my relationship! We’re stronger than ever and really building a solid foundation. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to being long distance in two months but right now I’m just trying not to think about it :/