Whether you're a new couple moving in together or have been together for a number of years, co-habitation is always a big, exciting, new thing.
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For like five minutes. Then it becomes chaos.
It's trips to Ikea, where someone breaks down about too many options and not able to leave from there like a normal shop (guilty).
It's trips to the grocery store and arguments in the aisle about if you really need a big bag of chips (the answer is always yes).
And it's finally unpacking all the boxes and setting up your first new home together.
It's once the dust settles and the boxes are empty that the reality finally kicks in; you've just shacked up with your partner and the future is about compromise, well technically speaking. Not sure if I've learnt how to meet half way... yet.
What's next?
There's is the romantic side to sharing a living space with a significant other person - the first time you cook a meal together, and listening to the rain on a Sunday morning under a warm blanket. It's Netflix in pyjamas all day eating a diet of popcorn, chips and chocolate and not being judged for it.
But it's not all a bed of roses. There is the snoring, the habits that were once quirky that have become annoying, it's the different alarms going off in the morning, the lack of sleep because the mattress you bought together is too firm for one but not for the other, and constantly waking up because you can't toss and turn like you use to.
Which pretty much describes the first eight weeks of my marriage. Let's hope we can still see the funny side when we (hopefully) celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.
You see, my partner and I have been together for 10 years but only moved in to our home when we got married and while we've gone on holidays before, nothing could have prepared me for the realities of actually living together.
It's not easy for my partner either, he has to navigate my strong personality, and we have yet to conquer Bunnings together, unless it's for a sausage sizzle. At least I don't have to think about breakfast for that morning. The good news is, he's mastered the art of compromise - I'm a work in progress.
At least I've solved one problem, I just bought a mattress topper so we can sleep better. Next step, buy some earplugs.