You two have a problem, a fundamental difference in how you want to spend your time, and a fundamental difference in how you expect each to act in relation to your families. Yikes! My first reaction to your letters was surprise at how diamterically opposed you are in your positions. Bob wants more time with friends and family, Sue wants more intimacy at home and new family traditions for Christmas. At first, these differences seem almost unsolveable.
What's the win/win for both of you?
I think that the answer lies in your commitment and love for each
other. If you both value the relationship with each other
as the primary relationship in your lives than you have two options:
compromise or find a third way. The compromise is what you are trying:
basically, you are negotiating how to spend time both together and
apart so that each of you gets some of what you want.
You
Owe It To Sue
In the case of Christmas, the plan was that you, Bob, were going
to compromise and do it Sue's way this year -- Christmas Eve with
your family and Christmas Day with hers. The sudden change
in plans is a breach of that contract, I think. I believe
that Bob, you owe it to Sue to forego Christmas Day with your family
this year.
An
Alternative To Compromise
The problem with the compromise approach is that you are both partially
dissatified and resentment can build. A third way is to identify
what are the most important core values to you in your relationship.
What are you two trying to accomplish together? How can that
best be achieved? Your answers to these questions will create
a plan for a third way of approaching the issue. That way
it's not my way or her way, it's OUR way.
Take
Control of Your Life, Not Bob's Life
But, I'm worried about you, Sue! Bob says that you haven't
worked in quite a while, and that you are no longer as independent
as you used to be. Could it be that you are looking to Bob
to satisfy too many of your needs? Is it possible that if you were
to take more control of your life outside of your relationship with
Bob, that you might feel more content? Are you depressed?
And Bob, Sue has a point about the separation from friends and
family that marriage requires.
You Infringe On Her Privacy
Your "open door" policy infringes on Sue's sense of personal
space and privacy. It gets even worse when you have kids.
