As long as we are both here, the sun will continue to shine on the empire. What's the time difference between us now? 14 hours. The sun is setting here, and rising Down Under.
Well a some of it was natural, but some of it was discussed and agreed to well before we started living together and some of it is just who I am as a person. I was a single dad with 2 daughters, you either grow up and become a man and a father or you don't in that situation. It just happened that i did, so that drove a lot of how our relationship evolved and not being family-centric would have been a deal breaker for me from the very beginning. And I know my partner had a few things like that which would have been deal breakers for her also. So we discussed it and agreed to things. Sounds all very contractual, but it wasn't really. Its just better not to waste time on things that wont work. Particularly so in how you are going to bring 2 families together as one. We made it work successfully. 14 years and counting. Coming from a family where my father was either at work or away with his friends might have also shaped a fair amount of who i became also. As i have asked a number of times in this thread, what kind of man does not want to spend time with his wife and kids? The answer is an arsehole! And I have not spoken with mine in probably 15 years. I dont even know if he knows he has great grand kids now. I doubt he is even interested in the slightest.
I have found one of the best tactics to having a happy marriage is to pick your fights (disagreements) wisely. Many a couple’s disagreements end up going from what color the new carpet should be to I’m going to win this one. In my case my wife has good judgment, if she says tan carpet will look good I know it will. No sense in try to convince her otherwise because I don’t care what color the carpet is. Of course I’m simplifying it to some degree but my point is I don’t sweat the small stuff. We discuss major purchases and other big life and family decisions but there again some common sense needs to apply. As far as amateur radio I have fun with it but it doesn’t control my life. Same as my wife she has a couple of hobbies which she enjoys but in the end we are there for each other. We’ll have been married 35 years in October.
Yes, ham radio has most certainly affected my marriage. My wife gets hot and bothered from the smell of solder smoke. If I come home from a hamfest and then start talking about the greedy bastards selling crap for top dollar, the horrible hot dogs, weak coffee and smelly men on scooters, she's on me like a newlywed again! She thinks I look like the cover of a dime store Harlequin romance novel when I'm in position trying for a new country. Seriously, she has always been supportive and gets a kick out of my geeky hobby.
