I’m slowly making my way through Minimalist Parenting, written by two women who, according to their bio blurbs on the back of the book, founded blogs named to the “Top 100 Mommy Blogs” (which both makes me want to puke that there is such a thing and inspires me!). What I’m noticing, though, is that there is SO MUCH useful information in the book for any person who lives with someone else, be that a roommate or partner or child.
One of the questions asked by them early in the book is, “What is your ideal time style?” If given an ideal day, would you plan it by the hour to ensure everything that you want gets accomplished, or would you seat-of-the-pants it and see how the day unfolds?
I am the former “Plan it down!” and J is the latter “Let’s see how it goes.” Asking this of myself and of him illuminates how differently we approach our days, and also lends perspective to why we fall into tensions around shared time.
It’s important for me to see that it’s impinging for him when I ask, “When?” and it’s unmooring for me when his response is, “Whenever.”
As our lives overlap further, it becomes more necessary that we have consideration for the other’s ideal. I need to take a deep breath when he says whenever and he needs to give me some boundaries of time within which to place that “whenever.”
I recognize that we’re pretty lucky that we’re well aligned on one of the major sources of couple tension—money—, but Money and Time can be part of one gestalt: is there enough of it, how does one “make” more, can you “save” it?
J and I approach Time differently. To embrace cohabitation bliss, we must each give a little latitude to the other’s approach.
Because however we view the sacred gift of Time, we’ve chosen to share it with one another.
Owning Voice 