Love is a fabulous thing, but sometimes it can be tricky to achieve when the one you love does not always agree with your likes in life. I have been married for 21 years and at times I joke about it being 21 long years! Our tastes differ in just about everything! He loves quiet nights at home watching movies and I love the nightlife, outside of home! I go crazy for seafood and he just thinks I'm crazy. Still our love survives, and I am going to spread my luck to all of you.
I know many of you have heard the phrase, "Love is a two way street", well it really is true! He goes one way and you go the other, but that is what keeps your relationship exciting, if handled with the right attitude. I have heard it said before that one person must be right in the situation well then that would mean someone has to be wrong? Wrong! Person's feelings are never wrong, so compromising on both likes is the best solution.
Let's use my scenario of my husband and I having different opinions on seafood; I absolutely love to dine at seafood restaurants or cook an occasional meal at home consisting of an array of seafood delights, he on the other hand believes I am out to poison him! Neither one of us want to give up our tastes in good food (his being beef or anything that moo's or growls!) so we came up with a compromise that works for us.
When going out to dinner we always choose an establishment that has a buffet style dining, that way we can have a variety of choices to choose from. Generally there is at least one seafood item on the menu and plenty of meat dishes. If we stay home, I generally will make the meal a meat feast with a salad on the side with added seafood garnishment. BBQ's are great because we can fire up the grill to accommodate meat and fish, lovely!
What makes a relationship loving is when two people can adapt to each others way of living, you do not necessarily have to partake, just respect it. If it is leisure that you both disagree on, then try setting aside 1 day each for doing what the other one likes. Football may be ultra boring for you, but just dress the part by wearing one of your husbands favorite jerseys and let him invite the guys over to have a few scrumptious appetizers, that you make and then think of all the fun you could have when the hubby has to come along on one of your adventures.
Surprisingly enough, husbands secretly like when their wives are able to join in on their guy fun, without complaining or spoiling the "guy thing". Let them hoot and holler at the cheerleaders, roar when there is a touchdown and surprise him with your encouragement of his day, it will lead to better things later and even encourage him to include you a bit more often too! The return compromise is that he must support something you enjoy. Try a day at the museum, or just a little company in the yard, while you plant flowers. The time spent together will strengthen your relationship and show each other how much you respect the others feelings.
If children or family is involved, set aside a "family meeting" time. We do this in our family and it works very well. The kids, in-laws or even my husband and I benefit from this meeting. It is quite simple actually. Everyone is told that they can voice their opinions, concerns or suggestions, all without conflict or repercussions, as long as it is done only at the meeting, no other time.
It is like having a "safe haven" to discuss problems or speak your mind. For example, if your child is not happy with something you are doing, this would be the time to tell you, without penalty. Maybe your husbands burping is driving you nuts, tell him so, at the meeting! We all have our own personalities, and we should be able to keep our own identity without damaging our relationships in the process.