BOND
It can be easy to fall into the routine of prioritizing your relationship. Honestly, you should. Your partner is now your priority.
Family can be a precarious element to add to the equation. Everyone’s relationships with their parents, siblings, and extended family can differ wildly.
Before we jump into this week’s topic, allow me to extend this caveat: if you or your partner are no-contact with your families, that is an individual decision that should be respected by everyone involved.
Entering into a new relationship—or hell, getting married—is not a reason to break no-contact.
Introducing your partner to your family in order to show them why you are the way that you are is not a reason to break no-contact.
Your partner wanting to meet your family “because they’re your family” is not a reason to break no-contact.
This is not an exhaustive list of reasons, but I think you get the general idea.
If you have a strained or severed relationship with your family, spend this week talking to your partner about it. Unpack it. Tell them what happened. Talk about what it felt like in the past, how you’re dealing with it currently, and how you think that may affect you both in the future.
Now, if those things do not apply to you, get ready for the great big family reunion.
Understanding your partner’s family is the tip of the iceberg into understanding your partner, and vice versa.
By this point, you may have already met your partner’s family and they have met yours. If not, there’s no time like the present.
Spend time as a couple with your families. Establish a rapport with them that will set you up for success in the future.
Personally, I don’t subscribe to the notion that you also marry the family of the person you wed, but—for better or worse—they will be around.
Put in the effort to be fully present and get to know them. Love the people that your person loves.
26
AUTUMN
FAMILY FEUD
Labor Day blazed bright and hot. The September skies were a blissful blue. I stood at the kitchen island, chopping a head of lettuce as the clock ticked closer to dinnertime.
The house had been cleaned from top to bottom, but the countertops were a mess from the afternoon’s grocery store haul.
Ryan and I had raided the local supermarket to put together a cookout fit for royalty. Or at least a cookout fit for my family.
The scent of freshly lit charcoal floated through the open window. Ryan stood sentry at the grill, guarding the flames as they licked up into the sky.
I stole a glimpse of him as I picked up the chopped lettuce and dropped it onto the platter. The tomato was next. Personally, I hated tomatoes on burgers. It wasn’t the taste. I just hated how cold and wet they were.
“Ry!” I shouted so he could hear me outside.
He poked his head in the back door and smiled as he mopped up the sweat on his face with the hem of his shirt. “Yes, ma’am?”
I shot him a bashful look. “Do you like tomatoes on your burgers?”
“I’m not mad at it if they’re there, but I don’t actively seek them out,” he said as he strode across the kitchen.
I pursed my lips to hide my smile.
“Why?” he asked as he came up behind me and caged me against the counter with his palms locked on the edge.
I leaned back against his chest. “Just curious. Seems like something I should know about you.”
