I had expectations going to live with Ethan at first.
Okay so Monday and Thursday I'll make dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday he can...Then Friday and Saturday we will eat out. Sunday we will save for eating at my parents.
I'll clean the inside, and he'll make sure the outside is always kept. Grass mowed, weeds pulled, and dog poop gone..
I'll wash the clothes in the morning, and he'll switch them over to dry later. Then we will both fold them together while we watch our Netflix show. (Which neither one of us watched without the other on separate-free-time).
He'll feed the dogs in the morning, and I'll take care of them at night. We'll switch off every time an accident happens.
Dog 1: Throws up on Monday-Ethan
Dog 2: Pees in the basement Tuesday-Kylee
...And so on.
I'll leave his coffee out and ready for him to take to work with a cute little "Have a good day!", note beside it..
And we will continue on this wonderful path of calmness for the rest of our terrific, perfect, no arguments ever-lives.
After a few weeks or so of what I like to call "easy living", where all the plans you had for how you two would spend your days/weekends/free time passed, and little bumps like:
I just loaded the dishwasher and he decides to bring out 5 more dirty dishes from the bedroom.
I come home on Tuesday to find Ethan passed out on the bed after having to wake up early to take care of the dogs. So it's bye bye home cooked meal, hello subway.
I cleaned the dog mess yesterday morning...but so did he. We both did? Whose turn is it now?
This "ideal" image of how Ethan and I would go through any and every obstacle in our life was completely unrealistic. I fully believed if we followed this "perfect" schedule than our lives would go smoothly, and no little road bumps could possibly occur.
How did I actually believe attempting to drive on the same road for miles and miles would never lead me to any bumps or cracks in the foundation?
It's nearly impossible to find a road that won't cause you to speed up, slow down, stop all together or go around. I didn't understand that at first, or maybe I didn't want to. I had always seen the movies and read the books. I craved that breakfast in bed, the cooking dinner together and drinking wine every night thing. Spending the Friday's in to watch your favorite movies all night long.
The truth is, that's not what living with Ethan is.
It's a ton of good and a ton of bad mixed together to create the right balance of beautiful chaos. I get to go to bed cuddled next to him every night, but we never end up staying that way like you see in the movies.
I get really hot and his arm gets numb. But even on separate sides of the bed-not touching one another at all, I still have an unbelievable amount of love for this man. This not so perfect-but not so bad man.
About once a week we make dinner together and drink wine. He makes his amazing pasta that he knew I'd love because it had roasted tomatoes in the ingredients, and I make the honey chicken for him that satisfies his hunger and his sweet tooth all in one. It's not an everyday thing, hell it's not even an every-other-day thing...But when it happens it's still our thing, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.
Laundry always needs done, the dishes are never all clean-for long anyway. The dogs shed, poop, and pee constantly. But when you find yourself slipping in the pee while carrying your plate full of food that you ordered-didn't make-on a Tuesday when it was suppose to be his day, and he is laughing so hard he's crying and you're crying because your tailbone hurts...You just realize that these imperfect, odd-kinda-moments are so worth all the confusion and disorganization.
The "Have a good day" notes turn into "Fed the dogs already so you wouldn't be late, but don't forget to pick up milk at the store after work" type things. And the Fun Friday night movie marathons? Ha..That turns into a coin toss for The notebook or Fast and Furious-I won by the way.
It's not what you think, I promise you that.
It's hard, it's fun, it's annoying, it's mind-blowingly awesome and ridiculous all at the same time.
But that's what living with your boyfriend is for me. Everyone has a different journey, mine has a few bumps here and there, but regardless...I think I want to drive on this road for a long while.
