6x non-romantic things about living together
Living together: waking up next to your loved one every morning, drinking coffee together in the kitchen, and cuddling up in bed after a long day. Sounds very romantic, right? It is somewhat romantic, of course, but this phenomenon is often a bit romanticized. Yes, I speak from experience.
Living with your loved one in one house is not always a bed of roses, so the irritations below will surely be recognized by all cohabiting couples.
1. Not having the same rhythm
It's nice and sweet that you think you can fall asleep with your loved one every night, but it can happen that your partner's rhythm is a bit different than you thought beforehand. There you are, dead tired in bed and ready to sleep, while your loved one just turned on a movie on the couch. And what I personally find even worse is the moment your alarm goes off early in the morning while your partner can sleep for hours more. Well, there goes the romantic coffee moment in the kitchen.
2. Having a different view on tidying up
I always feel just like my mother when I hear myself say irritably: ‘How much effort is it to just put that plate in the dishwasher instead of always throwing it in the sink?’ My loved one usually looks at me as if I'm crazy because he thinks it amounts to the same thing; after all, the mess is out of sight. Well, clearly a different idea about tidying up. And what is it with men and nail clippers? And why does that always happen in the middle of the bedroom? I won't even go further into this, but I still find it incomprehensible.
3. Friends showing up unexpectedly
When you share a house together, it unfortunately also means that your partner's friends sometimes show up unexpectedly. And yes, even at times when you really don't feel like it. Due to a lack of sensitivity, you just have to swallow this from time to time. Conversely, this is also the case: my boyfriend suddenly sits on the couch drinking tea with a crying friend of mine. Well, it all comes with the territory.
4. Being in each other's space
Of course, you choose to live together because you like having your loved one around, but sometimes that can be just a bit too much of a good thing. For example, when you get out of bed on the wrong side and suddenly hear way too cheerful music while you'd rather spend the rest of the day in silence, or when you work from home and your partner suddenly sits next to you on the phone for an hour. Golden tip: get a dog, then you can take a walk when the walls are closing in on you.
5. Eating each other's candy
The idea of living together is that you share everything in the house, including groceries, which is only logical. But sometimes I long for my own candy drawer with a code lock on it. Nothing is worse than looking forward all day to that one chocolate bar, only to find out it's completely devoured when you get home. Guaranteed to cause a fight.
6. Having to schedule time together
When you live together, the biggest danger might be that you start living past each other. You feel like you see each other a lot – which is probably true – but that doesn't mean you actually communicate with each other. Scheduling date nights is a must when you live together, preferably outside the house. The idea that you have to arrange this isn't very romantic, but at least it prevents you from becoming just housemates.
