Weird Things About Living With People

I am taking care of Shannon as she recovers from having ALL FOUR of her wisdom teeth removed. It has given me time to reflect on the weird comfortability that happens when you live with someone for a long time.

Shannon and I have lived together for 6 years now. Wow. (Give or take - Shani complains I never add it up right.) I remember how stiff things were when we moved in together, and many of the things I swore would NEVER HAPPEN are now common place. For example:

I swore (to myself) I would not wander the house in my undies or a towel. Now this is common place - on both our parts! In the heat of summer, bikini tops, or undies, are the norm. Since the kitties, who despise all shut doors in the apartment, the bathroom door is usually slightly ajar at all times as well. Otherwise there is kitty wrath! This is not how I imagined things when we first moved in together, but it is quite normal now.

I never would have considered the possibility of someone else having access to my email, or other Internet accounts. We share the iPad and the computer, and leave accounts open all the time. There have been times when we have signed in to one another's accounts for various reasons.

Finances have changed quite a bit. For a long time, they were very separate and worked out equally. Now, they are all squishy and wishy-washy. We even use each other's debit cards when necessary, and do each other's banking occasionally. I was quite sure at first that if we didn't keep finances well pencilled out and equal, it would be a strain on our friendship. Finances are a strain, but not on our friendship! It is very much all for one and one for all, and we work to help each other achieve what is important to us. Much nicer than I foresaw, actually.

Even though Shani and I do not share a room (a GOOD thing, since I am a morning person, and she is NOT!), I can NOT sleep without her in the house. She is a night person, and her puttering around, talking to the kitties has become part of the background noise that helps me sleep! The silence without her there is SO LOUD.  I had heard of married couples having trouble sleeping when half of them are missing, but never of friends! Certainly not something I was expecting.

Living with Shani at first was kind of awkward, but now it is very comfortable. I can't imagine living without her!

Living WITH someone is good for the soul, I think. Of course, there are necessary quiet times, but it keeps you from being SELFISH. Rubbing up against the foibles, habits and idiosyncrasies of another human being provide endless opportunities for personal growth. Shani is a night person, I am a morning person. She's an introvert, I'm an extrovert. I have a head for numbers, she does not. Shani likes chick-flicks, I like Jackie Chan movies, although we both like mysteries. In many ways, we are REALLY different, but that has led us to grow a LOT. It is a good thing.

Right now, we are both on our lovely sectional, swathed in blankets. Her face is all swollen and huge,      and she is sleeping with the kitties on her feet. I am going to make some dinner for me, and when she wakes up, I will make her some more chew-less food.