>Is there a special recipe for sticking together?>>
I used to wonder the same thing, lol, and sadly, I have no big epiphany to offer. It certainly hasn't always been cookies and cream, roses and puppies. Came close twice to ending it during ugly times. If you can make it through the ugly, and you can, it does make you stronger. And especially, as you age, you come to realize there is little in life worth getting into a tizzy about. It is easy to grow apart. We must continually work on growing together. On some level, it is necessary to let go of past transgressions (both suffered and perpetrated) and don a pair of rose colored glasses. Focus on the good times, even if you're not feeling it. Recognize out of the billions of people in the world, there are but a handful of those in life that truly matter. All that being said, we have had a very traditional life in terms of husband and wife. It works.
That was quite beautiful to read, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I quit feminism and doubled down on the cooking and cleaning for everyone. My feminist family thinks I've gone mad. I'm not great at sustainable cleanliness but i'm working on streamlining the house so it will be easier to keep clean. I'm alright at burst cleaning and can get things in tip top shape, like a model home, but struggle to clean messes as I go along to keep the house looking good.
My cooking has gone from subpar to pretty awesome. I like doing challenging dishes, recently I've been going ham on chicken-pot-pie!
I don't do things i didnt appreciate growing up, I don't yell at people for not doing dishes or not doing their part to keep the house clean. Honestly, a majority of the mess in the house is mine anyways. I love my roomates like family, and keeping them fed and the house clean without stressing them out about it is my platonic way of showing them how much I love them. I am hoping that I can really nail this being a lady thing, then my roomates who are like bros will subconsciously raise their standards for women and select better women for themselves. Perhaps it will boost their self esteem enough that they will think they deserve a woman as awesome as they are.
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